Letters of Murder
by cdbazemore98
Summary: The residents of North Philadelphia are filled with dread, agony, and devastation as a string of murders occur within the month. Friends, family, loved ones are individually slaughtered in brutal ways. All the victims seem to have a connection with the Junkyard Gang one way or another, which leads the gang to try and find the killer and uncover their motives...
1. Prologue

**Hello, my friends! Happy New Year! And what better way to celebrate than to post a brand new story! I normally post a new story on New Years Day, but I kinda took a break** **this time. And what do you know, it's another Fat Albert story. This one is gonna be much darker as you could probably tell based on the title and summary. Murders are happening all over North Philly, and all the victims are closed friends and loved ones to the gang, so it's up to them to find the murderer.**

**I dunno why I like this dark edgy stuff. It's just too interesting for me. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy! Here we go!**

**Warning: This story will contain mentions of death and graphic depictions of death. Also heavy themes such as suicide and depression. If you feel uncomfortable with that kind of stuff, I advise you to turn back while you can. Otherwise, you have been warned.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Prologue

North Philadelphia was a simple part of the city in Pennsylvania. Not a lot happened in the everyday lives of the residents there. There would be an occasional event here or there, but other than that, things were pretty normal.

Event the occasional tragedy was rare when it came to this city. The important thing was that the community always came together in some of the darkest of times...

And soon... they would need to come together yet again for events that would have unfolded...

Which started not too long ago...

It was a nice warm night. Some of the young teenagers had already turned in for the night, and some were still wanting to hang around town. Some were just getting started for tonight. And one of those teens was Bobby Hanson...

"I'm heading out, Ma." He called as he started out the door.

"Be careful, and don't stay out too long." His mother called back.

"I won't..."

Bobby smiled as he walked to his car. He planned to spend a little time with his girlfriend and other friends, hanging around town, smoking and taking shots. But he knew he couldn't stay out long due to his curfew. And if he missed one more, he wasn't going to be hanging out for a while.

As he approached the car, he happened to notice something strange. For one thing, the hood was down. It had rained the previous night, so he remembered putting it down, but he also remembered putting it back up this morning.

Why was it suddenly down again?

Bobby was prepared to put it back up when he noticed another thing. It was running. He could hear the engine loud and clear, "What gives...?"

"Fancy a night out, Bobby..." said a mysterious voice.

"What...?"

The boy looked inside the car, and frowned when he saw that someone was sitting in the driver's seat, "Who the hell are you, and what are you doing in my car?" He demanded.

"Thought I'd take it for a little spin." The person smirked.

"Well, you'd better get out before I call the cops!"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you... or else you'd regret it."

Bobby growled as he then walked to stand at the back of the car, "Fine, then I'll just stand here 'til you get out." He said as he crossed his arms, "Cause I'm not gonna let you leave this driveway."

There was some silence before the person spoke again.

"Suit yourself..."

Suddenly, before Bobby could react, the person hit reverse very hard, as they ended up backing into Bobby, sending the teen crashing to the ground. Bobby hissed in pain as he clutched his arm. He was sure it was broken, "What are you doing, man? Are you crazy?

The person chuckled to themself as they shifted gears, moved the car up a little, before shifting back to reverse, and sped backward, the back left tire rolling fast for Bobby's head... and poor Bobby barely had any time to move out of the way...

There were sounds of squicking and thuds, but the person was satisfied as they moved back up, turned off the car, got out, and examined their work. Bobby Hanson's head was a completely crushed and bloody mess and separated from the rest of his body. The tires of his car made a red-colored streak in the driveway.

Another person popped up to wipe the evidence on the car to avoid fingerprints. Before handing the leader a pen and pencil. He quickly wrote a note and dropped it on Bobby's decapitated body...

"Let's head out before someone sees us..."

From across the street...

Rudy Davis groaned as he closed the magazine he was reading. He had yet again had the misfortune of hearing the revving of Bobby Hanson's car every night, and tonight was no exception.

"I wish that dude would just stay home for one night..."

He forced himself out of bed and trudged towards the window, no longer hearing the revving, and hoping that Bobby was gone... but what he heard instead was what sounded like shrieking cries of a woman.

Looking out of his window, Rudy gasped in horror. He saw Mr. and Mrs. Hanson standing in their driveway, with Mrs. Hanson sobbing uncontrollably, and Mr. Hanson looking at a piece of paper, while also trying to console his wife.

But what really scared Rudy was seeing Bobby's body just lying there... there was a pool of blood now forming. And it was too much for the rich boy to take as he backed away and spirited out of his room to find his parents...

As for the Hanson's, they were looking at the note that was left...

'**_Revenge is a broken bike, Bobby... should've looked where you were going...'_**

**Wow. And already we have our first murder of the story. Bobby is a character from the FA episode 'Justice Good as Ever'. He was kind of a jerk in that one, but even he didn't deserve to die. Next will be the first official chapter as we see everyone react to the news of Bobby's death and get the gang wondering what's happening. I'll see you guys later. And as always, don't forget to review, please. Thank you.**


	2. Chapter 1: Reactions

**Hello! Here is the first official chapter of LOM! This will take place the morning after Bobby's death. We'll catch up with the dudes at school and see how everyone is taking the news. Let's see how things go. Enjoy!**

**PS: I'll be using Fat Albert's show surname, Jackson, instead of Robertson like I've been using in my other stories. Just to show that this story is separate from those.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

Chapter 1: Reactions

That morning of North Philly was rather somber for some people. And some still had yet to find out the horrors of last night. Albert Jackson was one of them as he woke up that morning and joined his parents for breakfast. But they were looking at the news.

_"Tragedy has struck for one family last night."_ Said the newswoman on TV, _"As seventeen-year-old Robert Hanson was found dead in the driveway of his home, apparently deliberately run over by his own car. Robert was the son of lawyer Henry Hanson, who has yet to speak of this horrifying event."_

The camera then showed the scene of the incident, where Albert winced at the blood on the driveway.

"Such a sad thing." Mrs. Jackson said.

"Now why would anybody hurt that boy?" Mr. Jackson wondered.

Albert himself was shocked. He knew Bobby wasn't the nicest person in the world, but that didn't mean he deserved to die. Who would be cruel enough to run him over...? He tried not to dwell on it too much as he finished breakfast, bid his parents farewell, and headed off to school.

Once he reached Maywood, he could tell by some of the student's body language that they had known as well. Some kids were talking about, and some, who must have been friends of Bobby, was crying, which included his girlfriend, who was bawling in the hallway. Albert looked at them sympathetically, before he approached his friends.

"Hey, hey, hey." He greeted, "Not a very happy day..."

The guys looked at one another before Harold spoke.

"I guess you heard as well." He frowned, "Someone murdered Bobby Hanson last night."

"Yeah. It's crazy man." Bill added, "I wonder who it was."

"Me too," Bucky spoke up.

"Eh, he was a jerk anyway..." Russell shrugged.

Bill looked at his little brother, "Yeah, but that doesn't mean he had to die. Somebody had to have really hated him to want to kill him."

Albert looked over the gang and noticed that Rudy was just leaning against the lockers, bowing his head, "Hey, Rudy." He said softly. The rich boy looked up and yawned.

"Hey..."

"You look like you didn't get a lot of sleep."

"I sure didn't. You guys know I live right across from Bobby, and I ended up seeing the crime scene. I... saw the body. And then all the police cars and ambulances there. It was hard to sleep... and I really couldn't sleep after what I saw." He admitted with a deep frown, "And... I really don't know how to feel... I never got along with Bobby, and I still hated him for running over my bike, but that doesn't mean I wanted him to..."

Albert put a hand on his shoulder, "I know. Let's just pray for Bobby's parents, and hope they find the person..."

"Yeah..."

With that, the bell rang, and all the students became to scramble to their classes. The boys sat at their desks as Miss Wucher walked in, "Good morning, class." She greeted, "I'm sure you've already heard of the tragic death of your classmate, Bobby Hanson. Later at one, we will all meet in the auditorium for a memorial service and moment of silence."

The class nodded. They had already expected the school to be aware of the situation. It was only appropriate that a memorial is held.

With that, homeroom went on as normal. By lunchtime, people were still talking about the incident. And that included the boys, "So... who do you think did it?" Harold asked, "Who would want to kill Bobby?"

"I dunno..." Bucky replied, "Who do we know that didn't like Bobby enough to do that?"

"It had to have been someone who _really _hated him." Russell added, "Someone who had such a burning hatred."

"Y-You mean like Rudy?" Donald asked innocently.

Rudy himself glared, "I didn't do it!" He defended, "Yeah, I hated that asshole, but that doesn't mean I hated him enough to kill him. And besides, what would I kill him over anyways, my bike?"

Albert nodded, "He's got a point, dudes."

"Yeah, man. Rudy couldn't kill anybody even if he tried." Bill added.

"Yeahb." Mush agreed.

The rich boy groaned but said nothing. Lunch went on as normal as possible, and afterward would be the memorial for Bobby. Teachers, classmates, and close friends took the stage to speak about him. Stories of fun memories and such were spoken up, and the service ended with a moment of silence. Afterward, the school was let out early and would be let out early for the rest of the week.

As for the gang, they all gathered in the junkyard, hoping to take their minds off of recent events with some Brown Hornet. Unfortunately, the usual rerun was cut off by a breaking news report.

_"There has been more evidence on the murder of Bobby Hanson." _The new reporter read, _"Hanson's parents discovered a note that was left at the scene of the crime."_

The screen then showed the note, and what it read shocked the boys.

"Revenge is a broken bike..." Albert read, "You should've watched where you were going..."

Rudy started shaking his head in disbelief and outrage, "I can't believe it! Whoever this killer is, they must be trying to frame _me _as the killer! All because Bobby ran over my bike!" He exclaimed in frustration.

"Are you sure?" Albert asked, "That could mean anything. It probably doesn't have anything to do with you."

"Who else has Bobby pissed off by backing over their bike?" Harold spoke.

"This whole thing is pissing me off! If I get arrested for this crap, then there's some bullshit going on!" Rudy growled, "I'm about ready to go the court with this!"

Albert looked at the rich boy, "Cool it. Let's just wait and see what the deal is. There's no way they'd find you responsible..."

"I sure hope so..."

With that, the boys went about their day. That night, Albert talked to his parents about what happened, and what he should do. They suggested doing something to support the Hansons.

That sounded like a good idea... but what could he do?

Albert had to think about it, and planned on discussing it with the gang tomorrow morning...

That very same night, someone was lurking in the alley way, smirking to themselves...

"One down... a whole lot of folks to go." They snickered, "North Philly won't know what'll hit them... especially a certain bunch of boys..."

The figure then turned to other figures behind them, "C'mon dudes... time to plan the demise of our next target. And this one will sure shake up at least one of those dudes..."

**Trouble's on the horizon. Everyone is shocked and conflicted by what happened to Bobby. Rudy feels like he may get blamed for it (he can never catch a break in my stories for some reason. Poor dude XD) And the murderer is planning the next crime, which we'll see next chapter. I'll see you guys later, and as always, don't forget to review, please. Thank you.**


	3. Chapter 2: Rooftop Kill

**Hey, hey, hey! Another chapter today! This is where we'll see the next unfortunate murder victim. This one will also be a familiar character from the show. All the victims are actually, but this one might be more well known. We'll see. Enjoy!**

**Warning: Chapter contains another gruesome death. You have been warned.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 2: Rooftop Kill

Nighttime was silent. Not too many people were outside hanging out. After the murder of Bobby, teens were a little more cautious this time around. However, it didn't stop some of them from still having fun within their own homes.

How... interesting...?

The same person lurked down the streets. It was time to perform the next murder. They had a feeling that this would be an easy one, not to mention very soul-crushing for the loved ones of the next victim.

And they were looking forward to this one...

"It's time to make the next move... I'm in the mood to make a drop on this person's life... if you know what I mean..."

Soon, they arrived at the location they were looking for with a smirk, "Next on our hit list... Elaine Withrow..." The person walked up to the house and started to climb up the side to the second floor. He peeked in one of the windows and saw just who he was looking for...

Elaine was busy practicing her cheerleading routine.

"Bitch thinks she's all high and mighty about knowing how to cheer. Well... she'll be cheering from the heavens very soon." The person sneered.

They then reached into their pocket to pull out a folded piece of paper, before slipping it through the open crack of her bedroom window. The person quickly moved out of view as Elaine was finishing up her routine to see the paper fall on the floor. Confused, the girl walked over to pick it up. Unfolding it, she read what was on it.

_**Come to your rooftop. I have a surprise for you- Donald**_

"Oh! How... sweet! And strange." She said with a smile. She was confused as to why Donald wanted to meet her on the roof, but she wouldn't know unless she found out. Although... after what happened the night before, she took special precautions and grabbed a baseball bat in case it was a trap.

With that in hand, Elaine made her way to the rooftop. Opening the door, she walked outside. Nobody seemed to be here at all. It was empty... and dark, "Hello? Donald?" She called, "Are you here?"

No response.

_Must have been a trick by some dumb guys... _She thought.

Elaine was about to head back inside before the door closed on her. A figure appeared with a smirk, "Hello, Elaine. Nice evening, ain't it?" He asked with a chuckle.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"Though I was Dumb Donald, didn't ya?"

"What's the big idea here?"

The person stepped closer to Elaine, "The big idea... is to make a few certain people pay for what they've done... and after we finish our goal, they're gonna regret the mistakes they've made."

All of this was starting to confuse and scare Elaine, as she held up her bat for protection, "I don't know what you're talking about... but you'd better leave me alone! Get outta here before I knock the wind outta you!"

But the figure only smirked even more, "I don't you'll be the one knocking the wind outta anybody..."

"Huh?"

Suddenly, another person came in to shove the girl to the ground, hard enough to send her in a daze and drop the bat. He then grabbed the bat and handed it to his leader. Before Elaine could completely recover, she felt herself getting bashed over and over by the bat. The two people laughed as they injured the poor girl. After another hit, the leader grabbed the girl by her hair and dragged her over to the edge of the roof.

"Oh, and before you go... tell Bobby Hanson I said hello in Hell." He sneered.

With that, he sent one last whack to her head, sending Elaine Withrow off the roof, and to the ground below, where she made a hard landing on top of a car. Much like before, the leader wrote something on a paper, and let it flow down until it landed on Elaine's bruised and bloody body.

The leader smirked to himself when he heard a door open, and the sounds of agonized screams, most likely coming from Elaine's mother, "Perfect... let's bounce before they see us..."

As for Mrs. Withrow, the first thing she noticed, besides her daughter's body, was a note...

_**You weren't good enough for that fool... probably should have stayed with the quarterback...**_

The next morning...

Albert found himself almost running late, as he grabbed breakfast to go this morning. When he arrived at school, he could definitely tell that the tension was somber. More students were talking, and even more were crying, especially girls that he knew from the cheerleading squad.

But it wasn't until he met up with his friends was when he truly found out what happened.

"Did you hear?" Harold asked, "Elaine Withrow was killed last night. They're saying someone bashed her up with a baseball bat, then threw her off the roof of her own house..."

"What?!" Albert was shocked.

Bill nodded with a friend, "Yeah, man. Her mom found her on top of a car. Didn't you see the news?"

"No. I was rushing to get here before class. I can't believe someone as sweet as Elaine would get murdered..."

"You think it's that bad... if you haven't noticed. Dumb Donald isn't here." Russell pointed out.

The large boy did take notice that their dimwitted friend was nowhere to be seen. And it wasn't hard to understand why. He and Elaine were very close. They dated for a brief time before deciding they were better off as friends, however, Donald continued to admire her.

"Poor Donald... he must be taking this the hardest..." Albert shook his head.

"He is..." Rudy spoke up, "I went by his place to wait for him to walk to school with me, when his mom told me what happened, and that he wouldn't be coming to school today. I'm gonna check on him after school. Dude must be devastated."

Bucky frowned, "I still wonder who's been killing everyone. First Bobby, and now Elaine. Back to back too."

This was something all of the boys were wondering. Two murders within the same week, and the same city. There was definitely something strange going on. But what was it... and why...?

Much like before, there was a memorial service held for Elaine, which was a lot more emotional then Bobby's, and school was let out early (which was already planned because of Bobby). As he stated before, Rudy made his way to Donald's house to check up on his best friend. The other boys offered to come, but Rudy declined, saying that Donald might not be ready to see anybody else yet.

As he did, he happened to walk by Elaine's house, in which the steps and door were covered with flowers, most likely gifted to her family by friends and mourners. Rudy was tempted to knock on the door to pay his respects, but he wasn't sure what to say outside of 'sorry for your loss'.

Soon, he made it to the Parker residence and knocked on the door. After a few seconds, it opened to reveal Donald's mother, who was holding his toddler sister, "Hello, Rudy. Didn't expect to see you again today." She greeted with a small smile.

"Yeah, I just wanted to check up on Donald." Was the rich boy's reply, "Is he there?"

"He's in his room. Been there all day ever since learning of the death of his friend... such a shame."

"I know... um, may I come in?"

"Of course. It's fine. Hopefully, you can get him to open up. My poor boy won't come out or even eat."

With that, Mrs. Parker let him in, and he immediately walked upstairs to Donald's room. Gently, he knocked on the door.

"G-Go away!" Was the broken response on the other side.

Rudy sighed, "Donald... it's me. Can I come in...?"

There wasn't a response for about five seconds, but he heard Donald speak again, "I-I guess... hold on..."

After another few seconds, Rudy heard the door unlock and eventually open. Donald stood there looking as pitiful as possible. His hat had dark stains that were obviously tears, he was shaking slightly, and in his hands were tissues. It wasn't difficult for Rudy to know what his best friend was up to today.

"H-H-Hey..." he greeted half-heartedly, his voice choking up.

Rudy smiled and held out his arms, "C'mere, man."

The boy immediately flung his whole body against his best friend, sobbing uncontrollably. Rudy in response rubbed his back soothingly, before leading him back to his bed where they both sat down.

"Shhh... I know, dude... I know. It's hard... and it sucks... it really does..." He whispered to him.

"W-W-W-Why?! W-Why Elaine?!" Donald asked with a sob, "S-S-She ain't never done anything! Why w-would anybody wanna k-k-k-k-kill her? It just don't make no fucking sense!"

Rudy was surprised to hear Donald swear. He almost never did. Though, he couldn't blame him. Who wouldn't wanna shout all the curse words of the world at the time like this?

"I-I know Elaine and I broke up..." The devastated teen continued, "A-And we remained friends... but I still loved her, Rudy! I still loved her! And I even thought of asking her out again! Just once! And now I can't! 'Cause she's GONE!"

The two best friends sat there for a good twenty minutes until Donald felt calm again. Rudy grabbed another tissue for him to wipe away his tears, "Donald... I don't know why this happened... nor who would be dumb enough to kill Elaine... but just know that I'm here for you, dude. We all are. We all know how much you liked Elaine. And I bet she's looking down at you from Heaven right now... smiling."

Donald sniffled, "Y-You think so...?"

"I _know _so. That's what grownups always say about people who die, so it must be true..."

"I-I guess you're right... uh, thanks for coming here, Rudy."

"No problem, man. I know I'm not the nicest person all the time, but that doesn't mean I'll abandon my best friend while he's grieving."

Donald smiled a little before giving Rudy another hug. It was true. To many, Rudy was seen as the selfish uncaring no class jerk. But underneath all that cockiness, there was a caring boy who could put aside his attitude for a moment to be there for those who he cared about. And it showed.

"Say..." Rudy spoke as the hug ended, "Why don't we head out and get some grub? Your mom said you haven't eaten all day, and we gotta get some food in ya..."

"I... haven't felt too hungry. I'm too sad to eat, and I'm afraid if I do eat, I'll just throw it back up." Donald admitted sadly.

"Well, you're gonna get sick either way. You need to eat. It's on me."

"O-Okay..."

With that, the two boys walked out of the room and downstairs, where Mrs. Parker was watching the news on television, "We're heading out, Mom..." Donald called.

"Alright. Don't stay out too long." Was her response.

On the television, from what Rudy and Donald could see, was the news reporting Elaine's death. As much as they wanted to keep moving, they couldn't help but stand and watch for a moment.

_"Another horrific murder has taken place in North Philadelphia, as sixteen-year-old Elaine Withrow was found dead last night, apparently beaten and thrown from the roof of her own home. This is the second murder taken place this week, and much like with Robert Hanson, an anonymous note was found at the scene of the crime."_

The writing on the note was shown on the screen. And when Donald read it... he quickly grabbed Rudy's arm and led him out the door, "Whoa! Whoa! Easy there! What's up?" Rudy asked as his friend held his arm rather tightly.

"That note... it said, quarterback." Donald replied, a hint of anger in his tone, "I think I know who killed Elaine."

"Really?"

"Yeah! And tomorrow, there will be Hell to pay for it!"

"... Um, okay..."

**Yes, Elaine (from the episode 'The Birds, the Bees, and Dumb Donald) was the next victim of these mysterious people. And people are taking it hard, Donald especially. Good thing Rudy was there to comfort him. That rich boy may be a cocky jerk most of the time, but he has a heart, and I wanted to show that here. And Donald seems to have an idea of who killed his love interest, and we'll see him confront that person in the next chapter. Until then, I'll see you guys later, and as always, don't forget to review, please. Thank you!**


	4. Chapter 3: Accusing the Quarterback

**Hey guys! Happy February! And what better way to celebrate the month of love and black history by with another chapter of LOM! This will follow the next day after Elaine's murder, and we see how Donald chooses to deal with the situation when he thinks he knows who killed her. Not to mention we, unfortunately, learn of another murder. Let's see how it all unfolds.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 3: Accusing the Quarterback

The next day, school went on as normal as possible. The heaviness felt from both Bobby and Elaine's murders still weighed over the students of Maywood, but they were pushing through as far as they possibly could.

As for the Junkyard Gang, when school ended, Donald had gathered them together to tell them how he felt, and what he was going to do. For he believed he knew the culprit...

Albert, however, was skeptical, "I dunno, Donald. Are you sure it was him?"

Donald frowned deeply, "I-I-I know it was him! Who else was Elaine dating other than me? He was mad that we got together, and probably thought that if he couldn't have her, no one could! I know it! That bastard had to have done it."

"I dunno, man." Bill spoke, "I mean, sure, he's a jerk, but I don't think he'd go as far as to murder. He's not that cruel."

"I'm telling ya. He did it! And when I see him again, he's gonna be dead himself! In fact, I bet he's on the football field right now! Probably proud of himself!"

"Donald, wait a minute!" Rudy called.

But the dimwitted boy had started running. Rage had overtaken him at this point, and it wasn't going to settle until he gave the one he was seeking a cold hard lesson. The others followed behind, mostly to stop Donald from doing whatever he was going to do. If not, then there would certainly be some trouble.

Soon, they all made it to the football stadium of school, where they saw the team practicing for the upcoming season in the fall. That's when the group saw just who Donald was talking about.

Hammerhead Rex.

Rex was Elaine's former boyfriend, until she eventually dumped him for Donald after he cheated in a game, and mostly because despite being together, he wasn't exactly the nicest to her. But that didn't matter to Donald right now, as he stormed up to the quarterback.

"H-HEY! HAMMERHEAD!"

"Huh? What?" Rex turned to the boy, and frowned, "What do you want, twerp? Can't you see we're practicing here?"

Donald growled at him, "I could care less about your dumb practice! What I wanna know is why the fuck did you kill Elaine?!"

That question stunned the whole team, as the players all stared at Rex in shock, "Wait? Is that true?" One of then asked.

"Did you kill Elaine?" Asked another.

Rex glared, "No I didn't! I dunno what this punk is talking about. I've never killed anybody in my life. And I would especially never kill Elaine. I loved her."

"Oh yeah! If you loved her so much, why did you always push her around when you were together?!" Donald asked, "You were jealous when she was with me! So you decided to kill her out of anger! I knew you were always trouble, but I never thought you'd be such a heartless bastard!"

Immediately, the others tried to intervene, "Cool it, Donald." Albert said.

"NO!" Donald shot back, "He needs to hear this! This jerkass is gonna pay for what he did!"

"I'm telling ya, I didn't do it!" Rex defended, "Look, I know I'm not the nicest dude all the time, but I'm not a killer! Honest!"

"LIES! ALL LIES!"

Rudy stepped forward to put a hand on his best friend's shoulder, "Take it easy, man. Maybe he didn't do it." He tried to calm him down.

"HE DID! I KNOW HE DID!"

"Out of all the people that could've killed Elaine, why would it be me?" Rex asked, "You and I aren't the only guys to date her, y'know. She's been with plenty of other dudes here at school. Any of them could be the killer."

He gave Donald a sympathetic look, "I know how you feel, dude. I'm just as upset about this whole thing myself. Elaine was... an extraordinary girl. I just wish I treated her better..."

_Now he's trying to make me think he actually feels bad. _Donald thought angrily, _Now he's gonna get it!_

The team was getting restless with this back and forth, "Can we just practice, please?" Asked one of them.

Rex sighed, "Right... why don't you punks beat it already? I didn't kill anybody, end of story."

The quarterback was about to turn away when Donald had lunged at him, punching him in the face. The gang and the team stared in shock as Rex was knocked to the ground with great force. Donald pounced on him and began to repeatedly punch the bigger boy over in over. Rex tried to fight back, but he found himself surprisingly overpowered by this boy who was much smaller than he was.

"AAAH! Get him off me!" He cried out.

"I won't stop 'til you admit you killed Elaine!" Donald sneered at him.

Everyone around them attempted to pull Donald away and save Rex from any more damage. Eventually, the coach had come out after a bathroom break and saw the commotion. He quickly rushed over to help, and soon, they were able to separate the two boys.

"You two are coming with me to the principal's office." The coach announced, dragging both Donald and a bloody faced Rex back into the school.

"Uh oh... Donald's in trouble now..." Harold whispered.

"He's really gonna get it," Bill added.

"Guys... do you think 'ol Hammerhead did it..?" Rudy couldn't help but ask.

Albert shook his head, "I don't think so... I doubt even Hammerhead could pull off a murder. Let's not forget that whoever killed Elaine has to be the same person who killed Bobby, because notes were left at the scene of the crime. If Hammerhead killed Elaine for jealous reasons... what reason would he have to kill Bobby."

Once again, the fat boy made a good point as Bucky spoke up, "Yeah. Did they even know each other? It has to be someone else."

"But who?" Russell asked.

"I'm not sure..." Albert shrugged, "But let's hope they find the person soon before anybody else gets hurt... and let's hope Donald's realized that you can't jump to conclusions too quickly."

Later on, everyone met up again at the junkyard. After everything was cleared up with the principal, Donald was let off with a warning. Although his parents were called, they thankfully weren't too upset, and let him off easy as well. Only, he had to help out Rex as a form of an apology.

The dimwitted boy sat ashamed in front of his friends, "I-I-I'm sorry you had to see that, dudes..." He said sadly, "I don't know what came over me... I was just so... so upset about what happened to Elaine... I thought for sure Hammerhead Rex was behind it all..."

"It's okay, Donald." Albert smiled, "It just goes to show that accusing people and jumping to conclusions isn't always the answer. Especially when you don't have the proof for it."

"Y-Yeah, I know that now... I guess it was that note that was left by the killer... it mentioned a quarterback... I just thought..."

"I get you, man..." Rudy sat down beside his friend, "You thought since it said that, that Rex might have had something to do with all of this. I can see why anybody might come to that conclusion. But I don't think he did it. Guy's an ass, sure, but he's not a monster. And I think he really did care for Elaine, even if he didn't show it."

Donald sighed, "I guess you're right. And I'll be doing all his homework for the rest of the week to make up for hitting him. His nose is broken."

"I'm shocked you can even fight like that, Donald." Bill pointed out, "I've never seen you pack a punch before."

"I know. I was surprised myself."

"Perhaps it was that inner rage coming out," Russell suggested.

Albert shook his head, "Either way, at least everything worked out between you two."

"Yeah, I'm lucky he's not suing." Donald pointed out.

"Now, we all better get home. It's starting to get dark."

Everyone agreed to that notion. Besides, with a killer still on the loose, they would much rather be safe in their homes as opposed to being on the streets at night. Albert had reached his house and was greeted by a nice warm dinner of spaghetti and meatballs, mashed potatoes, and salad.

"How was school today, son?" His father asked.

"Still a little sad. Especially after what happened to Elaine." Was his response.

Mrs. Jackson sighed, "Such a shocking event. I can't imagine how the Withrow's are feeling right now. Perhaps there's something we can do to pay our respects. Maybe, find a way to help pay for funeral expenses."

"We could host an event to raise money. I know some people who work in that business." Mr. Jackson added.

"Maybe. I just hope we can all get over this soon. Two people were killed in one week. Something is definitely going on, and I hope it's figured out soon before anybody else gets..." Albert sighed.

His mother put a hand on his shoulder, "It'll get better, dear. The families affected will heal. It'll take time, but they'll heal. All we can do is pray for them that God gives them the strength they need to pull through. And we also can't let these tragedies affect us. We can't let them bother us or keep them on our minds all the time. We have to keep moving on."

"I know."

Soon after dinner was over, Albert helped washed the dishes, as he looked outside the kitchen window and noticed someone running up to the front door. Who could that be? The doorbell rang as expected, as the fat boy put the last of the dishes, "I'll get it."

He walked to the front door and opened it, revealing something surprising. It was young Tommy Camden, a friend of the guys who moved to North Philly a year ago. Since moving in, he learned the values of being trusted, responsibility, following the rules, and choosing his friends wisely.

But now, it seemed like Tommy was here for a different reason. The boy had tears streaming down his cheeks, his shirt seemed to be stained with... blood, and he was holding a piece of paper in his hands, trembling.

"Tommy. What happened?" Albert asked.

Immediately, the boy buried his face in his friend's stomach, sobbing, "Fat Albert... it's my Mom and Dad... they're gone! They're gone!" he cried.

Albert's parents had come by to see what the problem was, "Albert, is everything okay?" His father asked.

"It's Tommy. He said his parents are.. gone."

Tommy pulled back, shaking uncontrollably, "My Mom and Dad are gone! Someone killed them!" He whimpered, "I-I-I was waiting for them to c-c-come back like I always do... and I saw them pull up... I waited for them to come inside, but they didn't. So I went outside to see them... but they were just... sitting in the car... their throats were cut open and blood was everywhere!"

Immediately, the family's hearts went out to the poor child, as Mrs. Jackson pulled him into a hug, "Oh, you poor baby..." She soothed.

"I-I-I tripped and got blood on me, and I was so scared that I ran away to find you..."

"Alright, son. Let us just call the police to send them to your house." Mr. Jackson said as he picked up the nearby phone.

"And you can stay here as long as you'd like." Mrs. Jackson offered, "Let's get you cleaned up and I'll whip up some soup."

That's when Albert pointed out the note in Tommy's hand, "What's that you got, Tommy?"

The younger boy sniffled and gave the paper to his friend, "I-I found this on my Mom..."

With that, Albert took a look at the note and frowned at what was written...

_**You wanted your son to follow the rules for his own safety... but you didn't take into account your OWN safety... Tommy listened... for a GREAT price...**_

**Aw man. A lot when on there. Donald was sure that Hammerhead Rex (Also from the episode 'The Birds, the Bees, and Dumb Donald) was the one who killed Elaine. But that turned out not to be the case. And now, Tommy (from the episode 'Rules is Cool) has lost his parents to the violence going on in the city. We'll see how the murdered pulled it off next chapter, and what'll happen with Tommy. Poor kid. **

**Also, Albert's mom brings up a good point about praying for the loved ones of the lost. I put that in given recent events, and I think it's a great message. If you know anybody who's dealing with a loss or really anything at all, keep them in your prayers. But don't dwell on the tragedy. It isn't good for mental health. Because life is fragile, so you gotta keep living your best life. Because only God knows when it's our time...**

**With that said, I hope you all take care and enjoyed this chapter, at least the stuff that was meant to be enjoyed anyways if anything at all. I'll see you guys later, and as always... you know what. For once, you don't have to review if you don't want. And that's okay. Thank you :)**


	5. Chapter 4: Fire in the Hole

**Hey there, everyone! It's time for yet another chapter of LOM. This will pick up with the killer again, how he managed to do in Tommy's parents and we see his next unfortunate victim. It has just not been a good week for North Philly, has it? Let's see what happens here.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 4: Fire in the Hole

The figure smirked to himself as he watched the police show up at the Camden residence, prepared to investigate the murders he had committed. Honestly, he was surprised he managed to pull it off at all. It was one thing to even confront them, especially considering that their son was inside the house, waiting...

It was actually rather simple, as he thought back to what happened thirty minutes ago.

_Mr. and Mrs. Camden were on their way back from work late. They had called Tommy earlier to let him know and to be home when they arrived. Of course, he obliged and waited patiently._

_By the time they had pulled out, both of them were ready to get out, when a certain someone walked up to the drivers' side. Confused, Mr. Camden rolled down the window, "Can I help you?" he asked._

_The figure smirked and held up a gun, "Stick 'em up! This is a robbery!" He demanded in a dark tone._

_Mrs. Camden gasped in horror as she clung to her husband, who glared at the figure, "I don't know who you're playing, son. But you best leave. We need to tend to our son. If you want money, I-"_

_"Oh... I don't want money. It's not money I'm trying to rob..." The figure chuckled._

_"Oh no?"_

_"No... it's your lives!"_

_Suddenly, the figured reached in to grab Mr. Camden by the neck. Putting the gun away, he now pulled out a knife, and in a single swipe, cut open the man's throat as blood gushed out. Mrs. Camden screamed out in horror and was about to run out of the car in fear, and also to get to Tommy, before the window on her side smashed open, and another figure grabbed her._

_The leader laughed as he rounded the car to the woman's side and pointed the bloody knife at her, "So sad... you and your husband are honestly too strict. Making your son stay home all the time, making him follow so many rules, and never let him have any fun..."_

_"That's not t-true..." She whimpered tearfully, "We make rules for his safety... and we do let him play outside... because we trust him! Please... please don't hurt my baby..."_

_"Don't worry. I won't lay a finger on him... but I will leave him a message if you'd like..."_

_Mrs. Camden choked on a sob, realizing that there was no way out of this, "Tell him... that we love him... and to... a-always be careful in the world..."_

_"Good..."_

_With that, her throat was cut open, more blood gushing out. The leader looked at his knife, before grabbing a sheet of paper to write a message for little Tommy... but not the message that his mother wanted him to hear..._

_"Let's bounce... I think the kid will eventually notice..." he told his partner. _

"Poor, poor Tommy... no parents... no rules..." The figure chuckled to himself as he licked off some of the blood on his knife, "That takes care of them... now to plan the next victim... and I think this one will be quite... fiery..."

The next afternoon.

_"A double murder has been committed last night. Peter and Carol Camden were found dead in their car by their only son, Thomas. Police are currently investigating this matter as well as the previous murders this week. Much like before, a note was found, this time picked up by Thomas upon his discovery."_

This was the news report that the boys were watching after school today. They honestly couldn't believe that Tommy had lost both of his parents in one night. There's no telling what'll happen now.

"Poor Tommy..." Harold shook his head.

"I can't imagine what he's going through..." Bill added.

Albert frowned, "I do... he came to me and my folks after he found his parents. Poor dude was terrified and scared. He's currently at my house right now. The police wanted to come by and pick him up, but my folks offered to look after him for the time being."

"Tommy's an orphan..." Rudy said, mostly to himself, "That's tough..."

"Does this mean he'll have to go to an orphanage?" Russell asked.

"Not if he has other family members he can move in with," Bill answered, "Considering he hasn't lived in North Philly that long, he probably has family in another town or state."

"He did mention an aunt that lives in Pittsburg." Albert mentioned, "He might have to go live with her, but he doesn't want to leave North Philly..."

"Why wouldn't he?" Rudy asked, "With all the killing happening, who wouldn't want to ditch town by this point? Besides, it's not like this is the first time Tommy has moved..."

Albert sighed, "Yeah, but he's really made friends here. And it's important that we be there for him and support him right now. He's going through a lot, and needs someone."

The rich boy nodded, "Right... sorry if I sounded like an ass then."

"It's okay. You sound like that all the time. We're used to it." Russell teased.

"Shut it, shrimp..."

Albert then got up, "I better head home to check up on Tommy, and see how he's doing."

"Yeah, go do that, man." Bill smiled, "He probably misses you."

"Heh, yeah..."

With that, the fat boy left, and it wasn't long before the other dudes started to leave as well. They agreed to actually meet up at Rudy's place later for a sleepover. Just a little something to take their minds off the recent events. Once Albert had returned home, he could see that Tommy had calmed down since the night before. Officer Monroe had come by to check on him.

Even with that, the poor boy was still traumatized and heartbroken over what he witnessed. While calm, he was very quiet and seemed to isolate himself now. Even as Albert's mother offered him food and comfort, he still kept to himself. Albert felt awful for his friends. The Camden's, while somewhat strict, loved and cared for Tommy. Why would anybody want to kill them? And who?

The answer was somewhat simple to Albert. The same person who killed Bobby and Elaine. The same person who left a note at the scene of every crime they committed.

And it was only a matter of time before another murder was committed...

Hopefully, it wouldn't...

Hopefully, the murderer was caught before that happened...

Hopefully...

Later on that night...

"It's time. Let's roll, dudes..."

The criminals were on the move again as they made their way through the dark alleys of the city. It was that time again, to commit another heinous act that would result in the death of another innocent citizen of North Philly.

The leader stood outside a house just on the other side of town and grinned upon seeing the lights inside. That meant that their next victim was hopefully home... and alone...

With that, he walked up to the door and knocked on it, before getting out of sight. From behind, the figures watched as the door opened, revealing Devery, "Hello? Anybody there...?" He called.

One of the figured jumped through an open window on the side of the house, carrying a few things.

After a few seconds, Devery shrugged and closed the door, "Must be some ding dong ditching dudes. Oh well. Better get back to my reading. Good thing I've got the house to myself."

As the teen walked back upstairs to his room, the figured were in the kitchen. One of them pouring gasoline all over the floors, leading from the kitchen to the living room and dining room, while another turned on the oven all the way and opened it. The leader smirked to himself as he planted a couple of sticks of dynamite on the windows and chairs. That and other forms of explosives were connected to one another.

And could be set off with a push of a button.

"I think that's another, dudes... let's bounce..."

One of the followers lit a couple of matches and dropped them in the gasoline. With that, the group left out the window...

As for Devery, he was currently looking at comics for the minutes that followed, unaware of what was going on downstairs. But it wouldn't be long before he did, as after twenty minutes had passed... the boy started to smell smoke.

"Huh...?"

Getting up, he went to investigate the issue, just as he heard the smoke detector. Walking downstairs, Devery gasped in horror to see the living room up in flames. The house was on fire!

"Oh no! How did this happen?!"

His first instinct was to get to a phone and call 911. Thankfully, the house phone was close enough for him to get to without having to overcome the fire. He picked it up and quickly dialed. After a few seconds, an operator answered.

"_911\. What's your emergency?"_

"Hey! My house is on fire! Get the firetrucks! Please!" He responded frantically.

_"Can we get a name and location?"_

"My name is Devery Suter. I live in North Philadelphia! On 115 Oakwood Street! Please, you gotta send help! I don't think I can even get outta my house!"

_"I'm sending a rescue squad and firefighters, Devery. Help is on the way!"_

Devery sighed in relief before he started to cough. The smoke was getting thicker and was started to overwhelm him. He had to get out... somehow. The front door was burning, and the fire was started to spread towards the stairs. The most he could do was get low to the ground, just as his parents taught him and his sister.

But as he did, he couldn't help but look up to the window closest to him, to see a piece of paper taped to it... with words...

_**Payback's a bitch. See you in Hell**_

What did _that _mean?

Poor Devery didn't have a chance to comprehend as the smoke finally caused him to pass out...

From outside the burning house, far away, the figure chuckled to himself as he heard sirens in the distance. But try as they might... they wouldn't be able to make it in time to save Devery Suter from his fiery doom.

Holding up the remote for the explosives... he pressed the button... and watched as the house exploded into a fireball, just as the fire trucks and ambulances arrived, "Evil and murder has never felt so good... time to leave a message..."

He picked up a folded sheet of paper that already had the message written. He unfolded it, before letting it blow towards the house. The message here was just as chilling as the message Devery had seen before his death...

_**'Don't you wish you would've gone home when your sister told you that Halloween night, Devery? Too bad home was where you met your end...'**_

**Wow. We see how the murderer took out Tommy's parents, and now we've lost Devery (from the Halloween Special). I gave him the surname of Suter (The surname of his and Rudy's voice actor, Eric Suter. Some sources say that he's was actually voiced by Gerald Edwards, who voiced Harold. But he sounds closer to Eric).**

**Next chapter will, of course, be mostly reactions to this latest murder. And we'll see the guys soft sides as they comfort someone really affected by this most recent tragedy. Until then, I'll see you guys later. And as always, don't forget to review, please. Thank you!**


	6. Chapter 5: A Sister's Grief

**It's that time. Time for a new chapter of LOM! This one will not have any murders committed, but instead some grief, soft moments, and reactions to the latest murder in North Philly. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 5: A Sister's Grief

"Hey, hey, hey! Time to play!"

The guys were getting ready to play some board games at Rudy's house. The sleepover had been going great so far. Tommy tagged along, in hopes of getting his mind off of his parents for one night.

Rudy had brought out various games such as Scrabble, Connect Four, Monopoly, etc. Just enough for some fun. After all, they've got at least two hours before bedtime.

"Are you dudes ready to lose? After all, I am the best at Monopoly!" Rudy said smugly.

Russell snickered, "Only when you lose everything in the game."

"I do not! I got the whole city last time."

"Only with Dumb Donald's help..."

Donald himself smiled to himself. Rudy rolled his eyes, "Whatever. Anyways, it's great that we're here getting some time together to have fun..."

Albert smiled, "I agree. With everything that's been happening this week... we could all use some positivity for once."

The boys all nodded. This has definitely been pretty crazy with all the sudden murders that have happened. Bobby, Elaine, and now Tommy's parents. Speaking of, the little boy was still feeling blue from the whole ordeal. His mind kept flashing back to when he found his parents... and all the blood... the blood...

Just thinking about it put a funny feeling in his stomach.

"Um... I'm gonna head to the bathroom... I don't feel so good..." Was his response as he got up and exited the room.

The guys looked at him with concern. Although, they all had a feeling they knew why he left, "Poor dude must be feeling sick... given what's been happening, I don't blame him..." Bill whispered.

"I know. But we just gotta be there for him the best way we can..." Albert whispered back.

"Hey. Bobby's funeral is scheduled for this Saturday. Any of ya'll going?" Harold asked.

Rudy shook his head, "You won't see me there. I have no reason to be there anyway... besides, there might be some people who think that I'm the one who killed him."

"What makes you say that?" Bucky asked.

"Well, that note that was left at the scene of the crime that night implies that it was me... and..." With a deep frown, Rudy got up for a moment, reached into his dresser that was nearby, and pulled out several sheets of paper, "I got these notes from close friends of Bobby, telling me to watch my back. Because of that damn note, and because of what happened with my bike, they assume I had something to do with Bobby's murder... but I didn't."

"Can't you just tell them it wasn't you?" Donald asked.

"Don't you think I've tried? They don't believe me... I gotta find a way to clear my name before I get arrested or something..."

Albert nodded, "They know it wasn't you. They just want someone to blame... give it time, and they'll forget all about you."

"Yeah, like everyone forgets about you." Russell snarked.

Rudy sneered at the smaller child, but just put the notes in the trashcan. Suddenly, the guys heard retching in the bathroom. It sounded like Tommy was throwing up. Albert got up immediately to go check on him. As he did, the home phone began to ring. The boys listened as Rudy's mother answered it.

They were going to proceed with their game if it weren't for the fact that Mrs. Davis started to sound shocked and concerned in the phone conversation. Eventually, the call was ended, before Rudy's mother appeared in the doorway, looking worried.

"Everything okay, Mom?" Rudy asked.

"I'm... afraid not..." Was her response.

That response alone was enough for the boys to know the deal. Somewhere, somehow, another murder has been committed. And to be honest, they'd rather not hear about it right now, "Where... whatever it is... can you maybe not tell us...? We'd rather not know..." Rudy requested.

"Oh, of course, dear... would you boys like to come out to the kitchen... I've made frozen pops..." Mrs. Davis asked.

The boys awkwardly nodded as they all followed the woman to the kitchen. Albert and Tommy joined them, for the latter could use something to hopefully settle his stomach.

The television was on and happened to be on the channel of the news. As the boys were getting their frozen pops, they heard what was being reported.

_"A house on Oakwood Street has exploded in flames. A firefighters struggle to put out the flames, the body of sixteen-year-old Devery Suter was pulled from the damaged. It is suspected that this was an arson, as yet another note was found at the scene of the crime. This is the fifth murder scene this week..."_

"W-WHAT?!" Rudy was horrified as he stared at the TV, "Devery is DEAD?!"

Mrs. Davis frowned deeply, "I had gotten a phone call from your father, Rudy. He was on his way from work when he drove past the house... they're saying that explosives were found... I'm so sorry..."

The other guys were just as shocked, but no one was more shocked than Rudy, who put his hand to his forehead, "I think I'm gonna be sick..." With that, he darted to the bathroom. As for the rest, all they could do was stare at the burning house on TV...

The murderer struck again... they lost another friend...

The next day...

School time seemed to be even worse than ever. More tears, more talking, and even more heaviness filled the air. Albert and the gang found that not a whole lot of people even showed up today, as half of their classroom was empty. Rudy had been silent this morning, having cried his eyes out the night before after learning about the death of his friend.

Miss Wucher hadn't arrived yet, so the boys began to talk amongst themselves...

"I honestly can't believe it..." Harold shook his head, "Five deaths in one week. Something's going on for sure..."

"I agree. With the killer leaving all these notes... there has to be some sort of connection." Albert agreed.

"I-I can't stop thinking about Devery..." Donald sighed, "And w-what a-a-about his folks? Not only did they lose him, but they also lost their house. What are they gonna live now?"

Russell frowned, "What about Melba... she lost her brother... I can't imagine losing my brother..." He then looked at Bill, who smiled back sadly at him.

"Well... we'll just have to try and be there for her like we're doing for Tommy." Albert said, "It's the least we can. We all knew Devery as well as she did, she'll need someone..."

Rudy sighed, "That is if she'll let us go near her... you know how stubborn she can be... and I'm not exactly her most favorite person... I just can't believe Devery's gone... just like that..."

They all couldn't believe it. And they couldn't believe why would anybody take these innocent people's lives... what was their purpose? What were they trying to achieve?

Soon, class began, and school was let out much earlier this time, as the campus now be closed for the rest of the week, and possibly all next week as well. The staff realized that all the students needed time to refresh from everything that's been happening...

The guys got together to... just be together. The sleepover ended up being a bust after learning about Devery, but they realized that they needed each other as much as possible. They were all... afraid...

Afraid of what would happen next...

Afraid of which unfortunate soul would be killed next...

Afraid... that one of them would be next...

After a while of thinking, the gang decided that it would be best to visit the Suter family to pay their respects. From what they heard, they were currently staying with family members, since their house was burned to the ground. After receiving the address, they soon found their way there...

"We thank you boys for coming. We sure weren't expecting you at all..." Mr. Suter nodded with gratitude. He sat on the couch with his wife, who was sniffling into tissues. The boys could tell that she had been crying for a long while. They didn't blame her one bit.

"It's been some hours since..." Mrs. Suter started before she let out a sob.

"We know... and we're sorry for your loss..." Albert spoke for everyone, "If there's anything we can do for you, let us know. We were all friends of... well..." He didn't want to say Devery's name, for fear of causing his mother to bawl.

Mr. Suter sighed, "Well... maybe you can tell us where little Melba ran off to."

"Huh?"

"We haven't seen her since this morning. She ran out suddenly, hopped on her cousin's bicycle and tore off... and we're starting to get worried."

That was worrying indeed. With how Melba may be feeling right now... she could definitely get into trouble. So the boys agreed to help find her, and with that, they left, promising to bring her back safe and sound.

However, after about twenty minutes, none of the guys found any sign of the little girl anywhere, and it was starting to get dark. Even when they split off, they couldn't find her.

"Any luck?" Albert asked when they all met up again.

"I don't see her anywhere." Harold shrugged.

"Me neither." Bill shook his head.

"We better find her soon... before the killer gets her." Russell frowned with worry, "The killer always seems to strike at night."

"Hey, guys!" Bucky ran up to the others, "I saw a pink bike sitting near the waterfront. I think it's the bike Melba was riding." He said.

The waterfront?

"Oh great. Bad things always happen at the waterfront." Rudy frowned, "We better get her before she falls in the water, or gets mugged by thugs."

With that, the boys headed for the place where they always happened to find trouble. Once there, they desperately started calling Melba's name. Anything could happen at the waterfront, and none of them were going to be responsible.

"MELBA!" Rudy called, "MELBA! Where are you?!"

He rounded a corner, looking everywhere and anywhere that Devery's sister could be located. The rich boy found himself near the peer... he looked closely... and saw a small person sitting on the peer.

"Melba!" He sighed with relief as he approached her.

The little girl looked over her shoulder to see Rudy, before turning back with a sob, "Go away, Rudy. I don't wanna be bothered..." Was her response. Rudy didn't leave though. He continued to approach her, before eventually sitting down beside her, much to her annoyance, "I said go away! I wanna be alone..."

"You shouldn't be out here... it's too dangerous here at the waterfront, a lot of crazy stuff has happened." He told her gently, "Come with me and the gang, and we'll take you back to your parents. They're worried."

Melba just turned away, not answering at all. But Rudy could tell what she was thinking, and how she was feeling. Cautiously, he put his arm around her, sighing with relief when she didn't reject him, "Listen... I know how you feel... I was close to him too..."

"I... I know we fought a lot... and I got on his case all the time... but he was my brother..." The girl whimpered, "I never wanted this... I could never imagine... I just... I don't... OH, DEVERY!"

Suddenly, she flung herself into Rudy's arms, crying loudly and uncontrollably. Rudy hugged her tightly, rubbing her back to try and soothe her. He felt his own tears threaten to fall, but he blinked them back. He did all the crying he needed for once. Now he was lending his shoulder for someone else to cry on, "Shhh... shhh... I know, I know... it's gonna be okay..." He whispered to her.

"W-W-W-Why would anybody k-kill Devery?!" She wailed, "Devery was dumb sometimes, but he wasn't a-a-a monster! Why would anybody wanna kill him?!"

Rudy sighed, "I don't know, Mel... I just don't know... something strange is going on for sure. But I'm sure they'll find the killer... and you and your folks will get justice."

"I MISS HIM SO MUCH, RUDY!"

"I miss him too..."

The other boys had heard Melba's cries, followed the sound, and soon saw the heartbreaking scene. Melba sobbing hysterically, and Rudy rocking her back and forth, trying to comfort her. Russell's heart went out to his best friend, as he walked over to rub her hand soothingly, "We're here for you Melba..." He said softly.

"He's right. We're all here if you ever need us..." Albert assured her, with the others echoing the assuredness.

"I just don't know what I'm gonna do without him..." Melba sobbed, "He... he was honestly the best big brother I could ask for. Sure, he was a pain, but he was always there when I needed him most. And now... he's GONE!"

Rudy just continued to soothe her as much as he could, "We know... Dev was our friend. He and I especially got along... I know you think I was a bad influence on him... but we were pals... just take a deep breath, Mel... try to relax and calm down... I know it hurts... but don't make yourself sick..."

The gang watched with astoundment. Never have they ever seen Rudy so caring and tender before. While he did have his moments... they were never this kind. Especially towards a person that used to bug him more than he cared to admit. They supposed that even in a serious moment... Rudy could be serious. Of course, Donald already knew this, having been comforted by his best friend already after Elaine's murder.

After about five minutes, Melba eventually calmed down. She had left Rudy's shoulder completely soaked with her tears, but he didn't mind at all, "Thank you..." She said with a small smile, "I guess I was wrong about you, Rudy. You're not a bad influence after all..."

She then reached up to give the rich boy a kiss on the cheek, to which he blushed, "Aw... it's no big. The least I can do is be there for my friend's sister..."

Rudy then stood, holding Melba in his arms as he walked over to the rest of the gang, "Let's head back. I think she's good now." He whispered.

Albert smiled, "That was the noblest thing we've ever seen you do, Rudy."

"For once... you've got class," Russell added with a sincere grin.

The rich boy couldn't blush any more than he did this evening. With that, the gang traveled back to return Melba to the Suters. Afterward, they stayed a while to make sure she was calm before heading home.

And as they did... all of them had the same thing on their minds...

Who was this killer... and why they killing people that seemed to be close to them...?

**Now it looks like the boys are starting to see a pattern with all these killings. All the victims so far have been either close friends or connected to them in some way. And we get Rudy once again being a sweetheart for Devery's little sister. We'll be getting a lot of sweet moments from the guys. I say it's warranted. **

**Next chapter will have the boys pondering the current events, along with yet another murder. They just won't stop, will they? Until then, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll see you guys later, and as always, don't forget to review, please. Thank you!**


	7. Chapter 6: Who Could It Be?

**Hey there, guys! I'm back with another new chapter of LOM! This will involve the guys thinking about the recent murders, and guessing possible subjects, along with another murder being committed. Let's see how it all goes down.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 6: Who Could it Be?

The next day seemed like a normal day... but it sure didn't feel like it. Not with all the recent events going on. Both Rudy and Russell had visited Melba just to make sure she was doing well after what happened to her brother. From what they know, there will be a memorial service for Devery, and he's most likely to be cremated due to the damage on his body.

Whether or not the gang would attend, they weren't sure. But it would only be fair... and nice of them.

But right now, all eight of them were gathered in the clubhouse, hoping to talk about this issue. An emergency meeting was called that evening.

"Alright, dudes. This meeting will come to order." Albert announced, getting everyone's attention, "As you all know, North Philly has been hit with a bunch of murders happening within the same week. The first victim was Bobby Hanson, then Elaine Withrow, then Tommy Camden's parents, and now, Devery Suter. Someone is killing these people. Whoever it is, they keep leaving anonymous notes at the scene of the crime."

"So, are we trying to figure out who's been killing everybody?" Rudy asked.

"Well, maybe not exactly, but we can at least try to understand their motives..."

Albert walked over to a wall with a poster. On it was pictures of the victims at the top, and below were pictures of the boys in a line, "Bill and I came up with this chart. With it, we can hopefully make some connections. Let's start with Bobby."

"Oh, I know! He ran over Rudy's bike with his car." Donald pointed out.

Using a marker, Albert drew a line from Bobby's picture to Rudy's, much to the rich boy's dismay, "I sincerely hope none of you think I'm the killer..." He muttered.

"Don't worry, we know it wasn't you..." Albert assured him, "So... Bobby is connected to us because of Rudy. What about Elaine?"

"She dated Donald," Harold spoke up.

A line from Elaine's picture was drawn to Donald's. That was two connections made, "Now, we're all friends with Tommy." Albert said as he started to draw a line for everyone, "Though... I suppose I'm closer to her, and I've spoken to his parents before."

"And Devery... I was close to him..." Rudy mentioned.

"Right..."

A line connected those two boys. As soon as that was done, the boys observed the chart and realized that Albert was right. All the victims seemed to have a connection to one or all of them in one way or another. What did this mean?

"Maybe theb killber knowsb whob web areb?" Mush innocently suggested.

...

Everyone looked at the Ubbi Dubbi boy and realized...

"Mushmouth... you might have a point..." Albert spoke.

"Really...?" Russell asked.

The fat boy nodded, "Yep. I may be wrong... I hope I'm wrong... but I have a feeling... that whoever the killer is... they know who we are... and are out to get us... I think we're in trouble."

The gang was starting to understand what Albert was talking about as Bill spoke, "Yeah. I don't think it's the actual victims they're after... it's us for some reason. Someone who must really hate us enough, that they want us to witness our close friends and such die."

"This makes so much sense..." Rudy added, "But... why? And who?"

"It has to be someone we know..." Harold answered, "Someone we've met and pissed off somehow... how about Franny Bates? He was pretty pissed after Albert got his brother in jail."

Albert shook his head, "I doubt it. Franny and I are still somewhat on good terms. He resents me, but he doesn't resent me that much."

Bucky had a suggestion, "What about that Melvin dude? The one stealing from the gym. Almost got Teddy in trouble."

"Isn't he on probation?" Harold asked.

"Yeah, but..."

"I bet it's actually that Arnie douchebag." Rudy wondered, "He seems like the sleazy type of guy. He and his goons almost attacked me too."

"How about Jerry?" Russell suggested, "The guy at Tommy's party. He's on probation too, but..."

"Or Larry?" Donald spoke up, "Oh wait, he's still in jail..."

Albert held his hands up to get everyone's attention, "Those are some interesting suspects, dudes. But let's take into account something. Even if one of them is the killer, how would they know so much about us already? How would they know about the bike incident? Or Elaine and Hammerhead? Or Tommy's party? Or Devery playing tricks on Halloween? How would they know any of that unless someone told them?"

Bill nodded, "You got a point there, Fat Albert. The killer has to be someone who really knew us pretty well."

"Exactly. Especially if they were able to write out notes that specifically mentioned certain events that relate to the victims..."

Unfortunately, even with these clues... the boys were still confused and rather clueless as to who the killer really is. Any possible suspects that they thought of, they immediately debunked due to the impossibility and unsureness. There just weren't any possible ideas.

"I guess this ends our investigation for now..." Albert concluded, "If we discover something else, we'll come back to it."

Everyone agreed.

"And we'll continue being there for the victims' families... let's all go for a walk... I think we need it.."

Yet another agreement. A simple walk around town sounds heavenly at this point. With that, the boys walked out of the clubhouse, out of the junkyard, and down the street. At first, it was silent between them, but then Donald spoke up, "U-Um... I heard that Elaine's, uh, funeral... is on Monday. Anybody goin'? I want to go, but at the same time, I don't... I wouldn't stand seeing her... in..."

The dimwit trailed off. The mere thought of seeing the girl he loved in a casket was too much. Rudy put a hand on his shoulder, "I know, dude. You don't have to go if you don't want to... and if you do... you know you don't have to look at her..."

"B-But I feel like I should... you know, to say goodbye one last time..."

"Just do what you feel is comfortable," Albert assured him, "No person wants to put themselves in that position. It's hard. As for Elaine's funeral... I guess I'll go."

"Do you think Hammerhead will be there?" Bucky wondered.

"I hope not." Donald frowned, "He's already sore with me enough..."

Before anything else could be said, the gang jumped at the sound of screaming. What was going on? It sounded like whoever was screaming... they were in pain. And whoever it was... sounded like a woman.

"Someone is in trouble!" Russell whimpered as he clung to his brother.

"What do we do?" Donald asked.

Albert felt conflicted, "Maybe... we can try to help... maybe..."

Scared, worried, and curious, the boys began to run in the direction of the screamer. As much as they didn't want to admit it, they knew right away that someone was getting attacked by the killer. Maybe... there was a chance to save that person before it was too late.

Soon, they were able to reach the house... but the screaming had stopped. All was silent. The front door was wide open. The boys had no idea of who this house belonged to, but they were prepared to help in one way or another.

With Albert leading the way, the eight of them slowly approached the door, with him opening it slightly. They hoped that the killer was gone and wouldn't attack them. But would it matter? As they peeked inside the house, the sight before them left them speechless.

The living room was trashed all over. Things knocked over, broken, or simply destroyed. But what scared the boys most was what was in the middle? Lying face down on a shattered coffee table was a bruised and bloody body.

"Oh god..." Rudy muttered to himself.

Gulping, Albert slowly approached the woman and turned her around. The boys shouted out in shock at the sight. Not only was there a large knife sticking out of her forehead... but they recognized her all too well.

"Dudes... that's... that's Miss Johnson!" Harold realized.

Indeed, it was the boys' substitute teacher that they had for a few weeks while Ms. Breyfogle was on leave at their old school. At first, the boys (Rudy especially) didn't like her so much, but they eventually warmed up to her. While she wasn't their teacher right now, she still taught younger kids at the elementary class.

Russell immediately buried his face in Bill's shirt and started sobbing. Donald covered his face in his sleeves to avoid seeing the scene. Rudy felt sick and vomited on the floor. Harold, Bucky, and Mush looked away. Albert, however, while horrified, also noticed something else.

"A note..."

Beside Miss Johnson's body was a folded piece of paper. Picking it up, he unfolded it, and as expected... there was something written.

_**'You deserved better, Miss Johnson. You could've had much better students.'**_

"Dudes... we better get help. Someone call 911... and, let's step out..."

Bucky was the one to do that. And in five minutes, the police and ambulance were here. Miss Johnson's body was covered as the cops investigated the scene, with Officer Jackson and Officer Gomez talking to the boys.

"So you say that you heard screaming, and came to investigate?" Jackson asked.

Albert nodded, "That's right. I guess we were hoping to help the person... but we were too late."

"I'll admit. You boys are very brave." Gomez spoke, "But here's some advice for the future. If you hear screaming from inside a house and fear it's trouble, make sure to call from a distance, and simply don't run inside the house. The killer could have still been there. You boys are lucky."

The gang realized the officer was right. By going inside the house, they risked walking into their own deaths. So they simply nodded at the advice, "Speaking of the killer... do you have any leads or ideas on who it might be?" Rudy couldn't help but ask.

The two officers looked at each other, before Jackson spoke again, "Not exactly. It seems that whoever it is... they are erasing evidence. There's no sign of fingerprints on weapons or anything. Not even the notes we've been finding seem to hint at anything. But believe me when I say we're trying our hardest to seek out the criminal. The city has been fearful this past week."

_Not surprising at all..._ Was what was on all the boys' minds right back.

After a few more questions, the boys were able to leave. They were still in shock from what they witness. Miss Johnson, one of the nicest teachers, was gone...

"I can't believe it... they got Miss Johnson..." Russell sniffled.

"She was always so nice..." Bucky added sadly.

"I... I wish I wasn't such a jackass when she taught our class..." Rudy admitted.

"Y'know... I'm starting to see a pattern now, Albert. Everyone who's been killed really is connected to all of us in some way." Harold pointed out, "And in this case, it's a teacher."

Albert nodded, "That's true... which means that we have to figure this out soon... before anybody else we know is a goner..."

The boys agreed to that.

Little did they know... was that they were being watched. The killer saw the boys walking down the street as he chuckled to himself, "Poor Junkyard Gang... so many lives lost... and you assholes only have yourselves to blame... and unfortunately, the night isn't over yet. One more will perish. And I have a feeling this will be another that will shake one of those dudes up..."

**So not only are the boys trying to figure out what's going on, but now their teacher, Miss Johnson (from the episode 'Readin', Writin', and Rudy) is gone from a stab in the head. And the killer won't stop there this night. Next chapter will have another murder, as well as reactions and feelings for Miss Johnson. Until then, I'll see you guys later. And as always, don't forget to review, please. Thank you.**


	8. Chapter 7: There Will Be Thorns

**It's time for another new chapter of LOM! The murderers are still on the move, killing innocent people, and today they'll take out another innocent soul. And like the killer said, Who will it be this time? Let's find out.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 7: There Will Be Thorns

After completing the attack and eventual murder of Miss Johnson, the killers continued on to another part of town to seek out their next victim. This one should hopefully be easy. Miss Johnson sure was...

"Alright, dudes... we're heading downtown this time for our next victim..."

With that, the criminals walked down an alleyway. It took a while, but they were able to find the person they were looking for. She was walking through the area with a bouquet of flowers in her hand, "Harold is so sweet..." She said to herself, "He always gives me flowers..."

"Flowers..." The killer whispered with a snort, "You honestly deserve more than flowers, Violet... and luckily we had it put on the door earlier..."

They watched as Violet approached her house, but before she took a step into the house, she found something tapped to the front door. It was... another bouquet of flowers. But this one had thorns on its stems, which were long, and it was actual violets as well.

"More of them..." She wondered, "Must be from Harold... he's so sweet..."

She began to take them, being careful of the thorns, but before she could make another move, she was suddenly grabbed by behind, a hand covering her mouth at the same time. Violet struggled to escape, but to no avail, as the figure spoke, "You sure get a lot of flowers from that dude... but little do you know, is that it will all come to an end..."

With that, the figure grabbed the flowers and began wrapping the thorny stems around Violet's neck. The thorns themselves began to cut into her skin as she choked and gagged.

"Write a message for Violet's mother. Quick." The leader told his partner, who nodded and got to it.

The criminal continued to pull harder and harder, determined to get the thorns as tightly as possible. He wanted Violet to suffer but at the same time, make it quick, as he knew her mother might come out at any moment.

As for poor Violet, she tried and tried to escape, and grab at the stem, but it was no use. She was losing air quickly, "P... P-Please... stop..." She whispered.

The figure smirked, "I will... once you're dead. Any last words...?"

"T-Tell my family... I love them... and tell Harold... I-I-I... love... him..."

With that, Violet Samson took her last breath before her body went limp. In fifty seconds flat... she was gone. The leader dropped her at the doorstep of her room, just as the note was finished and dropped on her body. Blood leaked from her neck from where the thorns cut into her.

"You were too good for him..." he chuckled, "Let's bounce..."

With that, the villains left. Just as the door to the Samson household opened. The leader smirked as he heard the horrified screams of Violet's mother. This was continuing to get worse... and that's just the way he liked it.

As for the note...

_**'Blood is red, Violet turned blue. Karma's a bitch, he didn't deserve you...'**_

The next day...

_'Twenty-nine-year-old Erica Johnson, a school teacher in the North Philadelphia area, was found dead by some of her former students just last night. Police report that she was stabbed multiple times before a knife was left in her head. And as with the previous murders that have occurred this week, an anonymous note was found. An investigation is still going on for those and this new crime scene...'_

The boys were watching the news report this morning. They were still rather unnerved (and frankly traumatized) from their gruesome discovery the night before. Their beloved substitute teacher has now fallen victim to this ongoing murdering spree. Which drew attention to their chart of victim connections.

"I guess we can add Miss Johnson to the chart now..." Albert said as he taped a picture of their teacher to the chart, before drawing a line from her picture to everyone else's. She was our teacher, so she's connected to all of us..."

"I still don't get who could be killing everyone..." Donald wondered.

"That's what we're trying to figure out." Rudy replied.

Bill sighed, "We barely have any idea, though. This murderer is just as obscure as the notes he be leaving. And even those aren't helpful either. At this rate, nobody will know who it is..."

He was right. With little to no evidence left behind, and the notes being practically useless, the killers seemed to be a lost cause at this point. It could take a long time... it could take weeks... months... even years.

As Albert looked over the chart, he then realized something was missing... or rather, someone was missing, "Hey, have you dudes seen Weird Harold today? I just noticed he's not here."

The other boys shrugged before the news popped on again.

_'In other news, it appears that the mysterious murderers have struck again last night. As sixteen-year-old Violet Samson was found dead at her front doorstep, apparently strangled to death by flowers with thorns. A note was found at the scene of the crime. We'll update on this further.'_

At this point, the boys wanted to say that they weren't surprised. But that didn't mean they weren't horrified. Violet, another friend, and Harold's girlfriend was now a victim.

"Man... Violet's gone now..." Bill shook his head.

"No wonder Harold's not here..." Bucky frowned, "He must be devastated."

"I am..."

The guys turned to the front door of the clubhouse. There stood Harold. From the look on his face, they could tell he was already aware of the situation, and he was indeed devastated.

"Harold..." Albert started to say.

The tall boy sniffled as he leaned against the door frame, "I... I can't believe it... Violet... Violet's dead... how could this happen? Violet never hurt a soul in her life! Why would these crazy people wanna kill her? It doesn't make sense!" He sobbed.

Immediately, everyone's hearts went out to their friend, as Albert walked over to give him a hug, "We know... we know how much she meant to you..." He said.

"I just saw her yesterday too!" Harold cried, "I gave her flowers! I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her! I was planning to propose after we graduated high school!"

Soon, the others joined in, and it was a group hug, as they tried to comfort their distraught friend. They knew how much Harold loved Violet. So to see him so broken up about her untimely demise... it hurt them too.

"We're here for you, man..." Bill assured him.

"If you ever need something..." Russell added.

"We've got you covered." Bucky finished.

"Friendsb tob theb friendb." Mush also added.

Harold wiped away his tears, "T-Thanks, guys... I really needed this. I dunno what I'm gonna do without her... I know she'd probably want me to find another girl... but..."

Albert put a hand on his shoulder, "It'll take some time..."

"What I wanna know, is what heartless prick hates me so much, that they'll go and kill the love of my life?! 'Cause apparently the killer has something against us all!"

"I wish we knew the answer, Harold. Hopefully... the answer will come..."

"Anyways... I went over to Violet's house to pay my respects. Her mom was the one who found her. I've never seen Mrs. Samson so heartbroken. And I heard it shocked Mr. Samson so much, he had a heart attack and went to the hospital again."

This was becoming much more serious than the boys had anticipated. These murders were starting to affect the families physically instead of just mentally.

Harold sighed, "I'm sorry, dudes. I need some time to myself to think. I'm think gonna go back to Violet's house. I feel like her mom needs someone's shoulder to cry on. They treat me like one of their own anyways..."

"You go do that. We'll probably still be here if you need us." Albert smiled.

"Thanks. Well, I'll see you guys later..."

With that, Harold walked out the door. Albert had to admit, he was handling this a little bit better than he thought. The tall boy was heartbroken, for sure, but he was being mature about it, even going as far as to help out her late girlfriend's family. What a gentleman...

But now, everyone's attention was focused back to the chart. Violet was going to have to be added eventually, especially with her connection to Harold. But the mystery still lies ahead...

Who are the killers? Why are they killing everyone? And what sort of grudge do they have against the Junkyard Gang?

Later that day, Rudy decided to take a page out of Harold's book, and go back to visit the Suter's. From what he heard earlier, Devery's memorial was happening the same day as Bobby's funeral, as his parents wanted to have it already and be done with it. At least he had a choice of which one to go to, even though they were happening back to back.

Actually, his reason for visiting was to check up on Melba. He remembered how distraught and utterly broken she had been at the death of her brother. He wanted to make sure she was secure and calm.

Russell wanted to tag along too. At first, Rudy was going to say no. But he remembered that the little boy was close friends with Melba, and he wanted to make sure she was okay too. So the rich boy allowed him to come.

One knock on the door later, and they found themselves sitting with the little girl in her bedroom.

"You doing okay?" Russell asked.

Melba sighed, "I wish I could say yes... but honestly... I don't... not only did I lose my home, and my brother... but I also lost my teacher. Y'know... Miss Johnson."

Both Rudy and Russell nodded with frowns. They knew all too well, considering that they... found her.

"I just don't understand who is behind all of this and why... why are so many people dying lately...?"

Rudy put an arm around her shoulder, "It's hard to say... this killer... whoever he is... might be targeting a certain group of people. Everything happens for a reason, I'm told, so there has to be a reason for these murders..."

"What do you mean a certain group of people?" Melba asked.

The two boys weren't so sure if they should tell her about what the gang has been speculating, but they supposed it wouldn't hurt as Russell explained, "Well... we're not so sure... but the killer seems to be getting people we know."

"Yeah. If you haven't noticed, all the people who've died were either people we knew or were close to. For example, Bobby Hanson. He backed over my bike. Elaine Withrow, she went out with Dumb Donald. Devery... well, you know. Bottom line is, we think the bad guys are out to get us by killing those who are close..."

"But we don't know why..." Russell added.

Melba was shocked, "Wow... if what you're saying is true... then who knows who could be next, goodness forbid."

"Yeah... but, we're trying to figure out who it could be. The last thing we need is more people dying... Weird Harold already lost his girlfriend last night too... there's a pattern... but we don't know where and how to connect the dots..." Rudy said.

"I'm glad you guys came. I'm not ready for... this weekend. In fact, I'm ready for it to go by..."

Rudy hugged her tightly, "It's gonna be hard to say goodbye... but we'll be there for ya..." He assured her.

"Yeah..." Russell joined the hug.

Melba gladly returned the warm gesture. They were right. Despite everything that was happening lately, what was important, was that everyone stuck together to support one another. They shall overcome... someday...

**Aww. I wanted to end this chapter on a much more simple and happier note. But poor Harold has lost his beloved Violet (from the episode 'No Place Like Home'). He's handling it a little well, but he's still upset. Next chapter, we'll get a glimpse of both Bobby and Devery's funerals. The chapter may be short though. Oh, and no murders will happen this time. Anyways, as for this chapter, I hope you enjoyed it. I'll see you guys later, and don't forget to review, please. Thank you!**


	9. Chapter 8: Homegoings

**Hello there! Well, thanks to Coronavirus, classes are moved online, and I've come home for the rest of the semester. So, I suppose I have more time for stories. So I have more time for this one as well. This will focus on the funerals of Bobby and Devery. So... it'll be a bit sad. Let's see how things go.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 8: Homegoings

Albert looked at himself in the mirror. He was dressed nicely today, almost today wasn't all that happy. Today, the services for Bobby and Devery would occur. Bobby's was at twelve, while Devery's would be at two.

The fat boy figured it would be right to attend both. Although he didn't know Bobby as well as he knew Devery. Somehow, he felt it was right...

It wasn't long before he and his folks rode down to the church. It was already full of the presence of Bobby's friends, family, and others who came to pay their respects. Albert included.

Bobby's casket was at the altar, but it remained closed. Probably for the best.

Albert and his folks sat near the middle of the sanctuary. Looking around, he didn't really see any of his friends aside from Harold who was sitting near the front, and surprisingly, Rudy. Didn't he say he wasn't planning on attending?

Soft music was played by someone on an organ, but it seemed to be drowned out by the muffled sobbing of mourners. The loudest of the cries had to be Mrs. Hanson, who had her hands on her son's casket.

Albert's heart went out to her. To everyone who was affected.

Soon, the service began as the pastor walked up to the podium.

"We're gathered here today to celebrate the life of young Robert Hanson, whose life was so cruelly taken away days ago." He spoke into the microphone, "But we're not here to dwell on that, for today we will focus on the happier times."

A few minutes went by of the pastor speaking before two songs and prayer of comfort followed. After that, people were given a chance to speak about Bobby.

And much to Albert's surprise, Rudy came up to the podium to speak.

"I remember Bobby..." He started, "Although the memories aren't so fond. To me, he was a jerk most of the time. I remember how he always revved up his car every single night and made so much noise that I couldn't sleep. But something I'll always remember is him backing over my new bike with his car last year, and he wouldn't pay for it. We went to court, and I won, obviously, and beat him in a bike race."

The rich boy frowned a bit when it didn't look like the audience was amused, "But y'know... despite our spats... I didn't hate Bobby enough to wanna see him dead. He didn't deserve that..."

Rudy then looked up, "So... Bobby, if you can hear me. I just wanna say that... I hope you're resting in peace... I wish we could've gotten along better... anyway, that's all I have to say."

With that, he walked back to his seat as people made noises of approval. After a few more speakers, another song was performed, before Bobby's father delivered the eulogy, ending the service.

While most of everyone left to follow the body to the nearby cemetery, Albert stayed behind to speak with Harold and Rudy.

"Rudy, I didn't think you were gonna come to Bobby's funeral." He said to the rich boy.

"I didn't think I was gonna be here either..." Rudy admitted, "But something was telling me to come. As much as Bobby annoyed the crap outta me... he was still a person I had a connection with. I felt the need to say something."

Harold nodded, "I'm glad they didn't show the body..."

"Me too. I already saw too much of it that night..."

"Well... that's one homegoing of many to come..." Albert spoke, "I guess we better head on to the funeral home for Devery's."

Rudy sighed, "Yep... one difference between this and that... I didn't have any reason to cry here..."

Thirty minutes later...

Much like Bobby's, Devery's service had quite a few people. And this time, the whole gang was present.

Everyone was gathered in the lobby of the building. Russell sat next to Melba on a couch, rubbing her hand in comfort. When Rudy saw that, he joined them to take Melba's other hand.

"How're you doin'?" He asked her softly.

"I'm fine right now... but I know in a few minutes, I won't be..." She admitted.

"Well, you know that you've got my shoulder to cry on when you need it."

Russell nodded, "Mine too..."

Melba smiled a little, "Thanks."

"And our shoulders as well..." Albert said as he, Bill, Donald, Harold, Bucky, and Mush walked over, "Hey, hey, hey, we'll wipe your tears away..."

"May I have everyone's attention?" One of the officiators walked into the lobby, "The service is about to begin. We ask that the family take their seats first."

With that, Melba got up from the couch with a deep breath and joined her family down the hall. After a few minutes, everyone else was able to join.

Flowers were everyone at the front, and in the center was Devery's silver-lined casket. A picture of him was on top.

The boys sat near the front, directly behind Melba. Russell rubbed her shoulder for support, just as the service began.

"Devery was a bright young man who had his whole life ahead of him." The pastor spoke, "That life was tragically cut short by the string of violence that's been happening in our community. We only hope that justice will prevail, but for now, we remember not with sadness, but with fondness..."

This was about the same as Bobby's memorial. Even down to the muffled sobs and tears. Albert looked to his left to see Rudy shedding tears of his own, as he mentioned before.

After the prayer of comfort, a song was sung beautifully by Devery and Melba's cousin, Mariah. And of course, the messages by family and friends came next.

Of course, Rudy walked up to give his speech, making sure to keep it short and simple, "Dev and I often always got into trouble. But we had fun doing it. Some say we were a bad influence on each other, but I say, we were partners in crime. I couldn't have asked for a better friend... aside from my other friends of course."

A few of the guys rolled their eyes at that comment, which Rudy noticed, "I see my friends agree. Anyways, I love ya, Dev. And I'll miss ya."

With a sniff, Rudy walked back to his seat. Melba gathered up her courage to go up as the last one.

"Devery..." She started, "We never got along all the time. Sometimes, he would do something stupid. Sometimes, I would find a reason to get him in trouble. But... I did it to have fun... but mostly... out of love... sometimes, I really didn't want him to get into more trouble. Like Halloween for instance. Momma grounded him, but he went out anyways. I knew what would happen if our folks found out he snuck out, so I tried to get him home."

The gang remembered that one. Devery got himself into trouble by ignoring his punishment and staying out too late. He was on lockdown for a long time because of it.

Melba took another deep breath as she spoke, "Despite everything, Devery was a good boy. He may have been stupid sometimes, but he was a good boy regardless! And I want him to be remembered as a good person, not as a stupid troublemaker... A good person who was taken from us far too soon!"

A few people clapped. This was a lot coming out of a nine-year-old.

"I never told him that I loved him much... but if I could... I'd tell him that I love him a million times." Tears were streaming down her cheeks, "Devery, if you're listening, I love you! I always will love you! I'd give anything for you, brother! I love you so much! Thank you..."

Mrs. Suter got up to help her daughter down. Almost everyone in the room was moved to tears by her speech. It made the situation more devastating.

After the eulogy, the service ended, and everyone trickled out of the funeral home.

"I wanna thank you guys for coming... I think Devery would've appreciated that..." Melba showed her gratitude for the guys outside the building.

Rudy smiled, "We were happy to be here to support ya... just know that if you need us at any time... we'll be here..."

"You really aren't so bad, Rudy... anyways, we're having dinner at my aunt's house. You're welcome to come if you'd like."

"Hey, hey, hey, Nothing can keep us away." Albert smiled.

Harold snickered, "Of course, nothing can keep Fat Albert away from the food."

Everyone had to laugh at that. After a day of remembering and sadness, it was nice to have a bit of lightheartedness.

Unfortunately, even the boys knew that this wasn't the end. There was still plenty of heaviness looming over North Philly. There were still plenty of victims to bury... murderers to find... and a mystery to solve...

Later that night, the guys, after a nice dinner with Devery's family, bid everyone farewell, as they were walking down the street.

"Hey, hey, hey... what a day..." Albert sighed.

"I'll say..." Bill added, "That was the saddest event I've been to... so how was Bobby Hanson's thing?"

"It was alright..." Harold answered, "And would you believe it, Rudy actually had something to say about him."

"Well... I felt like I had to say something... besides, anything to get his friends off my ass." Rudy admitted, "Maybe they won't think I killed him."

Donald sighed, not paying too much attention to the current conversation, "All this talk about funerals... it makes me afraid... 'cause you know, Elaine's is on Monday, and I still haven't decided if I'm goin'..."

"We'll support you in whatever you choose to do..." Bucky assured, "We know it's tough..."

Donald smiled, "T-Thanks..."

"Say, Harold. Have Violet's parents made any arrangements?" Albert asked.

The tall boy shook his head, "I don't think so. It's only been a day now..." He sighed, "But when they do, I'm gonna help them out. It's the least I can do..."

"That's nice of you... and... let's all hope that things will get better..."

And so, the boys continued home to hopefully get a good night's sleep. After today, that's all they wanted and needed.

**So today, we lay Bobby and Devery to rest and see what had to be said. I mentioned that this wouldn't be too long, but I hope you enjoyed it regardless. Next chapter, we'll get our next murder victim. The deaths won't stop, will they? Until then, I'll see you guys later. And as always, don't forget to review, please. Thank you!**


	10. Chapter 9: Headshot

**Hey everyone! I'm back with another chapter of LOM. The boys will do a bit more investigating for the mystery, and this is where we're getting our next unfortunate victim of murder. And this one is gonna be a bit more quick and simple. Let's see how it plays out.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 9: Headshot

A discussion about what to do about the recent murders was being held at the Capital of Philadelphia. Parents were sending over complaints and concerns over the safety of their children. The mayor was scheduled to host a meeting with representatives of the state board.

Meanwhile, the boys weren't worried about that. Right now, they were preparing to bid Tommy farewell. His aunt from his mother's side had come to take him with her to Pittsburgh. She was a nice lady, almost identical to Mrs. Camden.

The young boy was standing outside with his friends as his aunt was loading his things into her car.

"I'm gonna miss you guys." Tommy said sadly to the gang, "Will you come to my parents' funeral?"

Albert smiled softly, "I'll try to make it. But Pittsburgh is a bit of a distance from here."

"Well, if you can't, that's okay. I'm just glad I got to meet you all..."

"We're glad to meet you too. And who knows, maybe you'll get to visit, or we can visit you."

Tommy smiled, "I'd like that."

"Okay, Tommy. I think we're all set." His aunt called, "Are you ready?"

"I guess so..."

The preteen walked over to give his aunt a hug. She hugged him back, "It's gonna be okay..." She whispered soothingly, before looking up at the gang with a smile, "Thank you boys for helping out my nephew. Coping with the loss of my sister and brother in law hasn't been easy."

"We're glad to be there for him," Albert told her.

"I'm so grateful."

Tommy waved at his friends, "Bye guys! I won't forget ya, and Albert, I'll call you when I get home."

The fat boy nodded. With that, Tommy and his aunt got into the car and drove off.

"I hope he'll feel better soon..." Harold said as everyone walked down the street.

"He'll be fine. He's in good hands." Albert assured him, "But for now, let's head to the clubhouse so we can do a bit more investigating..."

Later at the clubhouse...

Violet was now added to the board of murder victims, with a line connecting her and Harold.

"So, do we know for sure that whoever's killing people is someone out to get us?" Rudy asked.

"Ain't it obvious at this point?" Bill retorted, "I mean. All of these dead people are people we knew, right? So someone must be getting revenge on us for something."

Russell frowned, "But why? We haven't done anything."

"What if we did, but we don't remember?" Donald wondered, "We must've done something REALLY bad."

"Even if we did, that doesn't give the killer any reason to go after our friends." Bucky spoke up, "Why don't they just come after us?"

"Do you WANNA be killed?" Rudy asked.

"No. I'm just saying..."

By now, all the boys were arguing over this matter, until Albert eventually shut them up, "Cool it! Discussion and everything is great, but let's focus on one thing at a time."

The boys continued to speculate from here on out. But after two hours of speculating, they still haven't come to any conclusions on who the killer may be.

Every thought, suggestion, or idea led to a dead end.

"This is hopeless!" Rudy exclaimed as he fell back on the floor, "We're never gonna find out who it is..."

For once, everyone agreed with the rich boy. At this rate, there was no telling who the murderer is.

"I guess we can end our investigation for now." Albert concluded, "We'll have to come back when we have more clues."

Meanwhile...

"While those fools are trying to figure out who done it, we're about to commit another fatality on another beloved teacher of theirs... but this has to be quick. Police are patrolling the area. We can't plan a slow and painful death this time."

The killers were once again on the move. The sun was now setting... the perfect time to kill...

Making their way through the various alleyways of the city, the criminals came across a house. The leader got a good look at it, before looking over at an abandoned building across the road.

"Perfect. Make sure you have the note ready. I'll be right back..."

With that, he made his way across the street into the building, to the top floor. After waving at his comrades, he looked into the house and saw who he was looking for...

"Good evening, Ms. Breyfogle..."

The teacher was currently upstairs in her bedroom, reading a book. She was distracted. This was going to be short and quick.

The leader reached into his coat to pull out a black revolver. He aimed it straight at Ms. Breyfogle... and when he had the perfect target...

_**BANG!**_

The window of the bedroom shattered, and Ms. Breyfogle was knocked off her bed by the bullet piercing into her skull. It was instant death.

The leader smirked, "Bye-bye, bitch..."

He then quickly got out of the building, and back to the house as the note was ready, "Tape it to the door..." he ordered, "And let's bounce. I can already hear the cops."

His followers did as told, and soon, the criminals were out of there just as the police arrived. Someone heard the gunshot and called them.

The first thing anyone noticed was the note on the door.

_**'You didn't have them as students for so long, but you deserved better than them still...'**_

The next day...

Donald was getting dressed for the day, but he honestly wasn't ready for it. Today was Elaine's homegoing, and after an endless mental arguing with himself, he decided to go.

He wanted to see her one last time.

After putting on a dark green suit, he met his parents in the kitchen, who were watching the news. He was going to ignore it until...

_"Yet another murder has been committed. Forty-four-year-old school teacher Gloria Breyfogle has been found shot to death within her own home..."_

"M-Ms. Breyfogle...?" Donald asked in complete shock.

"Wasn't she your teacher at your old school?" His father asked.

"Y-Yeah..."

His mother sighed, "So unfortunate..."

Donald nodded, "Yeah... uh, I-I gotta go! I'll see ya later..."

With that, he made his way out the door and down the street. The plan was to meet with his friends at the junkyard before they all went to the service at one o'clock.

Fifteen minutes later, and everyone was sitting in the clubhouse.

"Guys! Did you hear? About Ms. Breyfogle?" Donald asked.

Judging by everyone's expression, he didn't even need to ask at all. It was very clear that they all heard the news the same way he did.

"We know..." Albert said solemnly.

"First Miss Johnson. Now Ms. Breyfogle..." Harold shook his head.

"She was always a nice teacher..." Bill added.

Rudy was more annoyed this time, "So now the killers are going after our teachers? Are they gonna kill Miss Wucher next? Miss Berry?"

"Don't jinx it, please..." Bucky pleaded, "I can't handle the thought of another teacher dying..."

"Me neither..." Russell added.

All the boys sighed before looking up at the board of victims across the room. It looks like now they had to add one of their former teachers to the list.

This was getting more and more serious than they realized. Now they knew for sure that someone was after them for one reason or another.

The only questions were still... who... why... and how were they going to put an end to it?

"W-W-Well..." Donald spoke again, breaking the sudden silence, "E-Elaine's funeral is in two hours... I'm still not ready..."

"Don't worry, man. We'll be there for ya..." Rudy assured his best friend, "We got your back..."

"T-Thanks..."

**So, Tommy is moving in with his aunt, and Ms. Breyfogle, the boy's teacher from their old school is now dead, and the situation gets worse. How will the boys handle it? It ain't gonna be easy, that's for sure.**

**Next chapter we'll say farewell to Elaine, but also say hello to some drama between the teens about all of these murders. Harsh words and heavy topics will be thrown, and it won't be pretty.**

**I hope you liked this chapter. I'll see you guys later. And as always, don't forget to review, please. Thank you.**


	11. Chapter 10: Deadly Discourse

**Hey there everyone! I'm back with another chapter of LOM. This is where we will say our goodbyes to Elaine. It will be sad. But then there will be some discourse over the issue at hand, as someone has a lot to say about everything that's been going on. Let's see how it all goes down.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 10: Deadly Discourse

'Celebration of Life of Elaine Anne Withrow'

This on the cover of the obituary that was handed to the attendees. For today they would be putting an angel to rest.

The service for Elaine was already sadder than the services for Bobby and Devery combined. From the moment the boys stepped foot in the church that Monday, the atmosphere was heavy.

So many tears and sobbing, mostly coming from Elaine's closest friends, her colleagues from the cheerleading squad, and especially her family members.

A beautiful golden lined casket held Elaine's beautiful body. She was dressed in a yellow dress to match, and in her hands was her pink pom-poms. The morticians had done a good job of hiding the injuries she had sustained from her attack, even if some were still visible.

Donald instantly broke down at seeing her. She looked so peaceful. It wasn't fair! Why did she have to die? Just... why?!

To the surprise of some of the guys, Hammerhead himself has shown up. They watched as he approached the casket to take a look at his ex-girlfriend one last time.

But the quarterback blew a kiss, before he walked to his seat, a solemn expression on his face.

For once, Rex didn't look so tough, and it looked like he did really care for Elaine, even if he didn't show it at times.

Soon the service had begun, and it was about the same as before. Words and prayers of comfort, songs, and messages.

Rex was one of the ones to step up and say a few words.

"I'll admit that I didn't treat Elaine as well as I should've when we were together..." he started, "But I still cared for her to some extent. I only wish I could make up for my mistakes. Elaine was a cool girl, and she was a great cheerleader. I'll miss those flips she did. And... that's all. I love ya, Elaine..."

With that, he blew another kiss to her casket before stepping down.

As for Donald, he was afraid to go. He feared that he wouldn't be able to say anything without crying. But... he had a lot on his mind.

So as soon as Rex sat down, Donald stood up to walk to the podium.

Taking a deep breath, he spoke.

"I-I remember Elaine..." he began, "I remember seeing her with the cheerleading team at football games. Remember how she was so happy with cheering. And I remember... me spending time with her. W-W-We weren't together that long. But... I loved her. I loved her so much. And she loved me. For myself. And I miss her... I miss her cheers, I miss her kisses, I... miss her s-s-smile."

The teen looked up to see his friends smiling with support and encouragement. Tears were falling again, but Donald pressed on.

"It just seems so crazy that something as sweet as Elaine would die! It just ain't right! But... Elaine wouldn't want us just moping. She'd want us to be happy and keep going. And I am happy that I got to meet the prettiest girl in the world!"

Some people clapped for that. Donald sniffed a bit as he finished up.

"I just wanna say to Elaine... if you can hear me from Heaven... I'm thinking of you. I love ya, and I always will... uh, thank you..."

He stepped down as some people made noises of sympathy and encouragement. Joining his friends at their seats, he let out a breath of relief... and a sob.

"I'm g-glad to get that off my chest." He said.

"Good on you, dude." Rudy smiled, putting an arm around his friend's shoulder.

"Hey, hey, hey. That's the way..." Albert also smiled.

The service soon didn't last long after that. Another few people spoke fondly of Elaine, her father delivered the eulogy, and just like that, it was over.

The burial was even more grieving, as most of everyone present couldn't handle the sight of Elaine being lowered into the ground. Donald included, as he had to step away (if only to prevent himself from bawling loudly).

After everything was done and over with, the gang and some classmates met at a restaurant to have one last toast for Elaine. Some of those friends included Margene, Leola, Joyce, Richard, Bob and Shanna, Undeen, Dimitri, Shawn, etc. Just to name a few. There was a laundry list of many others in attendance.

"Oh, what a day..." Joyce sighed, "But I'm glad it's done for the most part."

"You got that right, Cabbage Flower." Rudy replied, "I have never seen so many tears in my life."

"That goes to show just how much of an impact one person can have on many." Albert said, "And in this case, Elaine had made an impact by being a sweet person."

Dimitri put his hands together, "May she forever rest in peace. A kind soul taken away far too soon."

"True..." Margene agreed, "I just wonder who could be killing everyone. It's so confusing."

"It's very surreal." Bob spoke up, "Philadelphia has had crazy things happen before, but nothing this extreme."

"It makes you wonder if there's some sort of secret plot going on." Monroe spoke up, "There's this movie I watched the other day where there was a mystery killer going around doing people in, and he had a motive."

The Junkyard Gang all frowned. They already knew that whoever was killing everyone they cared about had some sort of vendetta against them. But they weren't sure if they should share that information just yet.

"You have an interesting point." Richard responded, "There has to be some sort of motive the killer has. As in, what do all the victims have in common?"

"Maybe they're looking for money." Cindy flipped her blonde hair back.

"Wouldn't that be for a kidnapping?" Undeen asked.

"Ransom doesn't always involve kidnapping... does it?" Flora asked.

"I guess not."

"So, what motive would the killers have?" Leola asked.

"The motives would be that they have a personal grudge against the Junkyard Finks."

Now that was a voice the boys recognized. Approaching the table was none other than Arnie, a sneaky pool shark who once tricked Rudy into gambling while playing pool. He, like everyone else, was dressed nicely, which implied...

"Hey, hey, hey... you were at Elaine's funeral?" Albert asked.

"Of course. Everyone wants to pay their respects." Arnie smirked.

Rudy raised an eyebrow, "Did you even _know_ her? Like _at all_?"

The sly boy pulled up a chair to sit in between Rex and Joyce, "Well... I guess I say I was... acquainted with her. We had a thing going on for a while."

What...?

Donald didn't believe it, "You mean you dated Elaine too?! I don't believe that bullshit."

"Hey, I did say that Elaine dated a lot of guys at school." Rex pointed out.

"But Arnie doesn't even _go_ to our school." Harold also pointed out.

Arnie shrugged, "True... but I knew Elaine personally anyways. But we're an item for long. She ended things between us after a month."

"I don't blame her..." Russell snorted.

"For once I agree with you, shrimp," Rudy responded.

Albert spoke up again, hoping to know something, "Look, Arnie. Even if you knew Elaine or not, what business do you have here? And what does it have to do with us?"

The pool shark smirked, "Boy, do I have some tea to spill? I heard from the grapevine that whoever is killing all of these people, they're trying to get revenge on the Junkyard Gang."

... So it was true...?

"They're getting rid of everyone you dumb dudes knew personally. The notes they've been leaving are proof enough of that."

This made everyone else look at the boys, who were confused as to how Arnie found out.

"Another thing is that the killers are threatening people to keep quiet about their identity." Arnie continued, "And that includes people from your school. Hell, it could be one of you who's being threatened."

Immediately, the group began protesting that, saying things along the lines of, 'I know nothing', 'I'm not being threatened', and 'The Hell are you talking about'.

"You're just saying shit to scare us." Rudy glared, "We all know how much of a sleazy bastard you are. If anything, you're probably in cahoots with the killers."

Arnie held up his hands in defense, "Oh no. I have nothing to do with this. I'm merely stating facts that I've heard."

"Just because you've heard it, doesn't make it facts." Albert stated, "It's just rumors. Someone could be lying."

"Maybe. But this I definitely know for a fact. You asses did something to fuel the killers' anger. Meaning you must have done something REAL bad to have your loved ones die."

Stares...

Stares were all the Junkyard Gang got from everyone. All they could do was freeze up, not one of them knew what to say. Could Arnie be right? Could they have possibly done something that would make someone mad enough to kill?

No. It couldn't possibly be that.

After a moment of silence, Russell spoke up in protest, "We didn't do anything! You're talking crap!"

"Rus! Language, man." Bill chided his brother.

"I agree with Russell. There's no possible way we did something so bad, that someone would murder people we know." Harold added.

"Y-Yeah, it's crap!" Donald exclaimed.

Rudy groaned, "It's like I said. He's making shit up to scare us! I know we did nothing."

"Oh no?" Arnie teased, "From what I've heard, you've been receiving threats from the friends of that Bobby dude. Didn't you have a mishap with him before?"

"Yeah. He ran over my bike with his car. But that's in the past. Why do you care?!"

"You've probably held a grudge for that. Notice how he was the first to die? And the note that was left at the crime scene? 'Revenge is a broken bike, should've watched where you were going'. Now, who else's bike has Bobby backed over."

The rich boy growled as he stood up and approached the pool shark, "Listen, you gambling bastard! I may not have liked Bobby Hanson, but I didn't hate him enough to wanna murder him over destroying my bike! I don't know where you're getting these stupid ideas, but you better take them all and shove them up your ASS!"

"Rudy, calm down." Joyce stood to put her hands on his shoulder before she spoke to Arnie calmly, "Rudy would never kill. I've known him for a while, and he may have used me, he really does care."

"Yeah. All of the guys are great people." Shanna spoke up, "They would never do something awful."

Everyone else was agreeing, standing up for the gang.

"And besides. Who is telling you this stuff anyway?" Albert asked Arnie.

Arnie shook his head, "Nobody's really telling me... I'm just hearing things. But you should hear this unless you dudes turn yourselves in to the killer, more people are gonna die, and soon... you'll end up dead. Just like Bobby, that kids parents, those teachers, that Dev boy, that Violet chick, and even like that whore, Elaine-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Rex had grabbed him by the shirt collar and held him up.

"You take that back, you son of the bitch!" The quarterback seethed, "Elaine was NOT a whore! And if you say she is again, I'll punch your fucking face in!"

Donald would have said the same thing, but he wanted to avoid a similar situation from when he confronted Rex himself.

As for Arnie, he merely smirked, just as one of the chefs of the restaurant spoke, "Hey kids. You wanna fight, take it outside!" He ordered.

"Put him down, Hammerhead." Albert told him, "It's not worth it."

Rex, not wanting to get into anymore trouble, gently set Arnie back on the floor. The pool shark dusted himself off, before making his way to the door, "You Junkyard bitches have an enemy coming after you, and if you don't step up, things are gonna get a whole lot worse."

Just before the door, he stopped, "And if you're really curious to how I know all of this... the gang members at the waterfront know a lot..."

He started to leave, but stopped again, "Oh, and speaking of the waterfront... there's been another murder. Someone saw a person drop a little kid into the water, and by the time they got the police and tried to save them... the suspect was gone, and it was too late."

Another murder...

Was it really a surprise at this point?

"And that kid. I think you dudes know him as he goes by the name of Peewee... have a good evening, everybody."

With that, he left... leaving the table of people shocked, confused, terrified... and concerned.

And all of those feelings currently applied to Albert, Bill, Russell, Rudy, Donald, Harold, Bucky, and Mushmouth.

**Uh oh.**

**After we say our farewells to Elaine, it looks like Arnie (from the episode 'Double or Nothing') had some tea to spill about the murders, but it's nothing the boys already didn't figure out already. But now they're worried that they may have indeed done someone to warrant all the murders.**

**Oh, and poor little Peewee from Season 1 has kicked the bucket. I wasn't sure of killing him off since he's so young, and I hate to see young kids die. But I suppose to adds to the suspense of what's happening.**

**Next chapter is, of course, reactions to the latest murder, and the gang discussing it. But for now, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. I'll see you guys later. And as always, don't forget to review, please. Thank you.**


	12. Chapter 11: Blood On Our Hands

**Hello, there. It's time for another chapter of LOM. Things are getting more serious for North Philly. A small child has died now, and the gang is starting to feel... responsible. Let's see what they're up to and how they're dealing with the situation now. And yet again, we'll learn of yet another killing. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 11: Blood on Our Hands

_"Tragedy continues to strike in North Philly. Police found the body of seven-year-old Patrick_ _Wright in the river. Witnesses say they saw an unidentified person dropping the young child into the water. The suspect escaped before the witness could stop them. However, another note was found with the body. While wet, it was readable."_

'**_You were proud of your size, Peewee, but that also made you a liable target. If only they didn't exclude you, short stuff...'_**

Albert shut the TV off then and there. The boys couldn't watch anymore of that news report right now. Yet another close friend of theirs is gone... and worse of all, it was poor little Peewee.

It was bad enough that their close friends were getting killed left and right, but now the killers were targeting even the youngest... it was scary as it was heartbreaking.

"Now we have to add Peewee to our board." Harold shook his head, "This is becoming too much."

"I'll say..." Bill added, "Now the little kids are in trouble." He found himself putting his arm around Russell, pulling him close, "I can't imagine..."

"A-And t-t-to think this is a-all because we did something..." Donald frowned.

"The question is, what did we do?" Bucky asked.

Rudy groaned, "How are you guys so sure we did something wrong? You don't seriously believe that bullshit Arnie spewed last night, do you?"

"But we had to have done something. The killers are getting all of our friends."

"Doesn't mean we did anything. Like I said, Arnie was bullshitting all of us. Trying to make it seem like we're responsible... at least I hope we're not responsible. What do you think, Fat Albert?"

Albert sighed as he taped Peewee's picture to their victim board. He too was having conflicting feelings about this whole situation. Part of him didn't exactly believe Arnie's claims, but another part of him... did.

The criminals were killing all of their close friends, allies, and acquaintances. All of the notes that were being left at the crime scenes hinted at certain events related to them. And the killer obviously knew them personally...

It all just couldn't be a coincidence...

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that his friends were just looking at him, "Albert...?" Bill called, "You okay, man?"

"Huh..." The large boy looked back at everyone, "Sorry, I was thinking..."

"Albert... do you think that we may have done something so bad, that it's making someone kill our friends...?" Harold asked.

"I... I'm not sure how to answer that. I want to believe we didn't do anything. We're all good people. I know we'd never do anything wrong... sometimes. But... whether or not Arnie's claims are true... I feel like in a way... we are responsible."

That shocked the gang completely. Normally, Albert would debunk these situations, and be reassuring. But now... he was agreeing that they were responsible?

"Areb youb sureb?" Mush asked.

"At least... indirectly, anyways. Think about it." Albert looked at the board again, "People are dying... they were our friends... and the notes seem to be related to certain things that have to do with us... somehow, we are causing these tragedies, for reasons we don't even know..."

The rest of the boys looked at one another before Russell spoke up, "But that doesn't mean we did anything! We're innocent."

"We might not be as innocent as we think." Albert replied, "Our friends are suffering. And Arnie said that if we don't expose ourselves to the murderers... more people will die..."

"But we don't even know who the killers are." Harold pointed out.

"And I sure don't want to face them," Rudy added.

Albert nodded, "I know... I guess all we can do is wait for the police to find anything, and maybe we won't have to..."

"In the meantime, maybe we can find a way to help out Peewee's family." Bucky suggested, "It's the least we can do."

"That's a good idea. We should pay our respects..."

But before another word could be said, there was a knock on the door. Albert went to answer it, but when the door was opened... there appeared to be no one in sight.

"Hmm... no one's here."

The fat boy was about to close the door... before noticing something on it. Taped to the door... was a note. It was folded... and stained with something... red.

Curious and nervous, Albert took the note and walked back to his friends.

"Whatchu got, man?" Harold asked.

"Something was on the door... I think it's a note..." Was the response.

Slowly, and carefully, he opened the paper... and began to read what was written out loud. The other gathered around him to see as well.

_Dear Fat Albert and the Junkyard Finks,_

_You have been dealing with some of your friends and others being brutally murdered within this past week. Shocking, isn't it? Well, as the saying goes, all actions have consequences. And YOU all are no exception. This is payback for what you did._

_Now you may be wondering; what in the world did you do to deserve this? What could you have possibly done to have all of these crimes committed on your loved ones? The reason, if you knew it, might seem small, and rather petty to you. But to us, it's a travesty. You took something away from us. So we thought that we'd return the favor._

_By taking away the people you love and care about._

_And because of your connections... you're LETTING this happen. They are dying for YOUR sins._

_And you're also probably wondering, based on the anonymous notes we have left, is how we know about certain situations. Well, information has to get out one way or another. So that's all we're gonna say on the matter. And the police still can't find shit._

_But... if you really wanna know our motives... and if you want the killings to stop... all you have to do is something simple. Come face us yourselves. So that we can personally deal with you... we'll be around, so don't try to wimp out when you see us._

_Don't even think of going to the police. 'Cause if you do, the next victim will perish right in front of you. Nothing is more torturous than actually seeing your loved one die right before your eyes..._

_Besides, it's a waste of time considering they still haven't found us..._

_If you surrender, we'll stop our killing spree..._

_If not... well, things will just continue to happen. The longer you wait, the more people will die. _

_And you only have **yourselves** to blame..._

_\- ATRB_

Almost every single one of the boys audibly gulped in fear. Arnie was right. Their suspicions and concerns were true. The killers _are _out to get them! And now they want to get them for real.

"I'm scared!" Russell whimpered, clinging to his brother.

"Meb toob." Mush added.

"They really are out to get us..." Harold frowned.

"What should we do?" Bucky asked.

Albert stared at the letter, rereading it a few times. As much as he didn't want to believe it, it was right there in writing. They were being targeted. And unless they faced the killers in person... more people continue to perish. Nevertheless, he tried to keep his friends calm, "Hey, hey, hey. It's gonna be okay. We're gonna take this to the police so they can investigate."

Rudy glared at him, "Didn't you read the letter? They said not to go to the cops or else more of our friends are gonna die!"

"This is a _threat_. Not to mention possible evidence for the police. Our situation looks bad, true. But look on the flip side. If we get this to the police, they may have a better chance of finding the murderers..."

He had a point. The other boys were worried, but they trusted Albert.

Soon, the gang made their way to the police department to report the letter they found. Officer Monroe was the first to see it.

"You boys did the right thing in bringing this to our attention." She said, "This might hopefully be one of the keys to finding the slasher."

"Slasher?" Russell asked.

"It's a term that can be used for a serial killer." The officer explained, "And since you boys are possible targets based off this note, it looks like you'll need some protection."

"So what do you suggest we do?" Albert asked.

"I'll have a discussion on that with the other officers. And we can come up with a solution with your parents. Speaking of, I'll give them a call to let them know you're here."

The boys nodded, thankful that law enforcement was here to help.

"Thanks, officer." Albert smiled.

"No problem, Albert." Officer Monroe smiled back, "Oh, by the way. How's Tommy?"

"Oh, he's doing fine. He's living with his aunt in Pittsburgh now."

"I see. Poor little guy. He's been through a lot. Hoping he'll feel better."

"I hope so too..."

Suddenly, Monroe heard her walkie talkie go off, _"Attention. Apparent death, potential murder. Off 124 Woodland Street. 10-4."_

Uh oh...

Not again...

"I gotta go, boys. You wait here for your parents to come pick you up..." She said.

The boys nodded before going to sit down. But for some reason... that address sounded very familiar... to Rudy...

"124 Woodland Street... that street... why does it found so similar to my street...?" he said to himself, before gasping, "Wait! That is my street! I live there!"

Before he could start freaking out, Albert settled him down, "Take it easy... it might not be who you think it is..."

"... Yeah... yeah... it's not... it can't be... I'm overreacting..."

"As usual..." Russell snarked.

"Shut up, shrimp..."

With that, the boys continued to wait. One by one, they were each picked up by their parents. Soon, Rudy was the only one left. For some reason, his parents were taking the longest to come for him.

He wondered why...

The rich boy was starting to become concerned, especially after hearing that another murder was committed on his street. But he tried to brush it off, hoping that it wasn't his parents or anybody else he knew.

It couldn't be. His parents were on their way here to take him home. Everything was gonna be okay.

After another twenty minutes, things would change...

The door to the station opened, and there was Officer Monroe... and his mom. Rudy immediately stood to greet her, "Hi, Mom..."

However, one look at his mother and he could tell something was wrong.

For one thing, she looked... rather terrified. Her face was streaked with tears... and her green dress was stained... with a hauntingly red substance at the skirt.

"R-Rudy! Oh Rudy!" She sobbed, rushing over to hug her son tightly, "You're safe!"

"Hey, Mom! I'm okay! Of course I am. I've been here the whole time." He choked a little from the tight embrace, "Are you okay? Did the killer try to get you?!"

He started to get angry at the possibility that the murderers would target his beloved mother, but it was that moment that he realized...

Someone was missing...

"Uh... where's Dad...?" He asked as he broke away, "Is he still at work...?"

Mrs. Davis turned away and sobbed some more, unable to bring herself to answer that.

"Mom...?"

Officer Monroe stood forward and looked at Rudy with sympathy, "We got reports of an attack at your house... by the time we got there... your mother was safe... a few injuries, but safe... and... your father..."

The boy was confused... before his eyes widened at what she was trying to say, "N-No..."

The policewoman frowned deeply.

"I'm so sorry, Rudy..."

**Why do I love to torture Rudy so much in my stories? **

**Not only are the boys feeling responsible for everything that's been happening, now it looks like he has lost his father to the violence. Our poor little rich boy is definitely gonna be depressed and devastated for the next few chapters. But we're gonna see his friends be there for him, of course.**

**Next chapter will focus on that. We'll see how the murders pulled off the kill of Mr. Davis. And who knows what ATRB means?**

**Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I know it's kinda short and may feel rushed, but I've had a little writer's block, but I pushed through. Until I'll see you guys later. And as always, don't forget to review, please. Thank you.**

**PS: I gave Peewee a full name. Patrick is original by me, while Wright is the surname of one of the writers (I think) of the episode where Peewee made his debut (The Runt). **


	13. Chapter 12: Devastated Davis

**Hey, hey, hey! A new chapter today! This one will be one of the more emotional chapters. Just a reaction to the latest murder from the previous chapter. And we'll see how the killers took out the victim.**

**Warning: Lots of tears. And a graphic flashback.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 12: Devastated Davis

Bill woke up that morning, and immediately knew something... was wrong. Something felt off. There was a heaviness in the air for some reason... but what?

His brotherly instincts kicked in as he got out of bed, and checked the top bunk, where Russell was still sleeping. He sighed in relief.

_I dunno why I was thinking something happened to Russell. _He thought, _If that was the case, I would've known sooner._

Bill looked at the clock beside the bunk beds and saw that it was almost nine o'clock. Breakfast should be ready now.

"Hey... Rus... wake up, man." He nudged his little brother 'til he felt movement, "Time to get up. I think Mom's making your favorite."

Russell moaned a little as he sat up, staring at his brother, "Blueberry muffins with waffles?" he asked sleepily.

"Who knows? We'll find out once we get to the kitchen."

With that, the small boy climbed out of the bed and joined his brother as they walked to the kitchen. As expected, there were blueberry muffins, waffles, eggs, bacon, and pancakes on the table.

Their mother was washing pots and pans when she noticed her boys, "Oh... good morning, dears..." She greeted half-heartedly.

"Hey, Mom..." Bill greeted back, noticing the tone in her voice.

"Mom, can we eat on the couch and watch TV?" Russell asked.

Mrs. Cosby smiled, "Of course, darling. You boys can do whatever you'd like today..."

Bill was a little confused by what he was seeing and hearing his mother do, but he tried to shrug it off as nothing. The brothers grabbed their plates of what they desired and soon plopped on the couch.

Russell grabbed the remote to turn on the television to cartoons. It was the cartoon about a cat and mouse getting into antics as usual.

As they watched, Bill looked back at his mother, who appeared to be anxious as she continued to wash dishes. He wondered what was up, but also felt like he already knew the answer.

Another murder happened somewhere, and Mom was possibly too afraid to tell them about it.

But why...?

_I wonder who it could have been this time... _He thought sadly, _With how Mom is acting... could it have been... Dad? No! That's stupid. She'd tell us if it were Dad. And she'd be in tears... unless she's trying to be strong for us. Stop thinking so irrationally, Bill. Dad's fine. He went to work this morning._

It wasn't long before the phone became to ring. Mrs. Cosby immediately went to answer it.

Not wanting to eavesdrop on the conversation, Bill and Russell continued to watch the cat and mouse cartoon. Although they could make out the words, 'Poor thing', 'If there's anything I can do', and 'should I tell them?'.

After a few seconds, Mrs. Cosby ended the call, and turned to her sons, "Bill... Russell... can you two come here for a moment?" She asked softly.

The two looked at each other, before getting up and joined their mother at the kitchen table.

With a sigh, she began to speak, "I need you two to listen carefully... because what I'm gonna say... you're not going to like so much."

Bill frowned, "I figured. Someone else died, didn't they?"

"That's right, dear. Your friend, Rudy... he lost his father last night."

"What...?"

"Apparently, the killers attacked his parents while he wasn't home. His mother survived but his father..." She drew in a breath, "He wasn't so lucky..."

Russell gasped, "Oh no... I can't believe I'm saying this... but poor Rudy..."

Even Bill was surprised that his brother, who butted heads with Rudy on a regular basis... felt sorry for the rich boy.

"I know you two are very close to Rudy along with the other boys." Mrs. Cosby continued, "So... if you can, be there for him. He and his mother need all the support they can get. Can you do that?"

Bill nodded, "Sure, Mom. We're the Junkyard Gang, we always stick together."

"We'll be there for Rudy..." Russell added.

Their mother smiled, "Thank you. I was waiting to tell you today to give some time..."

Later on at the junkyard...

_"Another tragedy has been committed yesterday evening. Junkyard owner, James Davis was killed in an attack at his home. The forty-two-year-old and his wife, Rochelle, were allegedly ambushed by the supposed killers that have been committing murders for the past week in North Philly."_

The gang... well, the gang minus one, sat in front of the TV in the clubhouse. None of them could have imagined that this would be the next victim.

Rudy's father was a well-respected man in the community. The money made from the stuff collected and sold in the junkyard often always went to charity or to support certain events. Was it any wonder the Davis family was wealthy?

And was it any wonder why they loved playing in the junkyard so much?

"T-T-This is g-getting more s-scary..." Donald stuttered.

"I know... and now Rudy's dad is gone, man..." Harold sighed, "Poor dude must be heartbroken."

"My folks didn't tell me until this morning," Bucky spoke up.

"Mineb toob." Mush added.

"Same here, man." Bill added, "And my Mom says that we should be there for him and help him out best we can."

Albert nodded, "You're right. Rudy needs us now more than ever. If he wants us to help, we should go for it. If he needs privacy, we should respect it too."

Everyone nodded. For all the trouble Rudy tended to give or get them into... they weren't going to abandon him in his time of need.

The boys decided that the best course of action would be to visit the Davis household. That is, assuming that the police weren't there to investigate the crime scene.

As they began to make their way there... they were being watched by you know who...

The leader snickered, "It was only a matter of time before we targeted someone extremely close to those fools... Mr. Davis was a strong fighter... but he was no match for us... such sweet victory... but we're still not done..."

He then turned to his team, "Let's start planning for our next victim... yet another family member of one of those assholes..."

As the killers were planning the next hit job, while also thinking about the crime they committed the night before...

... Meanwhile, at the same time, Mrs. Rochelle Davis was replaying the scene in her mind over and over as she made herself some tea.

_The killers stood outside the Davis residence the previous evening... preparing to take down their next victim._

_They just had to wait until a certain someone got home..._

_"So are we gonna get both of them... or just one, boss?" Asked one of the followers._

_"It depends on who cooperates... and who doesn't...?" The leader replied._

_Soon, they saw a car beginning to pull up to the driveway. The killers hid behind a bush beside the house as they watched Mr. Davis get out of the car and walk inside._

_The leader quickly looked through a__ window to see the man greet his wife as they shared a kiss._

_"How was your day, dear?" They heard Mrs. Davis ask._

_"Fine. Hectic, but about the same as always." Was Mr. Davis' reply, "Is Rudy home yet?"_

_"No. I think he's still playing with his friends."_

_"I see... y'know, since we're alone... perhaps we can actually... have some fun time..."_

_"Oh my..."_

_The leader gagged when he heard that._

_"Maybe the first thing we should target is the lower parts..." He muttered to himself, "Time to execute dudes before things get weird... go!"_

_With that, one of the smaller members hopped out of the bush, and walked to the front door of the house, and knocked._

_A few seconds later, and the door was opened by Mrs. Davis, "Hello?"_

_"Good evening, M'am. I was wondering if you and your husband would like to answer a few questions for a survey. Can I come in...?"_

_"Oh... why, of course. Come on in."_

_The small one entered the room as the woman led him into the living room. While that was going on, the leader and the others used tools to open one of the windows to climb through._

_As for the Davis', they sat on the couch as the small follower began to ask the questions._

_"How long have you been married?" He asked._

_Mr. Davis smiled at his wife, "Nineteen wonderful years. Next week will be our twentieth."_

_"Do you have any children?"_

_"Oh yes. One handsome boy, Rudolph. He should be home soon." Mrs. Davis answered that as she folded her hands on her stomach._

_"How have you been doing in these times?"_

_Mr. Davis sighed a little, "It's a little rough with all the killings going on. We're both worried for our son's, as well our own safety. We just hope that the killers will be found."_

_The follower smirked a little as he asked one more question._

_"Do you think the killer might try to get you guys?"_

_The couple looked at one another before Mrs. Davis answered, "I... I don't think so. Why?"_

_He then chuckled, "Because they're about to... right now."_

_What?_

_At that moment, everything seemed to be going in slow motion. Mr. Davis has quickly sensed something as he looked behind him to see a masked figure attempt to plunge a knife in his head._

_But the man had fast reflexes as he grabbed his wife and moved away from the couch, just as the knife stabbed the cushion of the couch._

_"What the hell is the meaning of this?!" he demanded._

_The masked figure, the leader, along with the other followers, also masked, came out of hiding._

_"It's simple really. We're just simply punishing people for their sins, that's all." Was his response._

_It suddenly made sense for Mrs. Davis, "Wait... are you...?"_

_"The ones who've been taking out people all over North Philly? You guessed right, M'am. And now... we're going to take **you **out..."_

_"Why are you doing this?" Mr. Davis glared at the villains, "Why are you killing these innocent people who've done nothing to deserve it."_

_The leader chuckled, "Well... it's not so much the actual victims who deserve it. To put it bluntly, they're actually dying for someone else's sins."_

_"Who's sins?" Mrs. Davis asked._

_"I would explain. But we gotta make this quick."_

_With a snap of his fingers, another follower grabbed Mrs. Davis from behind and pulled her away from her husband, "Oh!"_

_"Rochelle!" The man called as she was thrown to the floor, colliding with the coffee table in the process. He then growled at the leader, "You bastards! You'll pay for the suffering you've caused!"_

_"Not before you pay for the sins!" The leader charged at him with the knife, but the father was once again quick to defend himself as he grabbed his wrist and attempted to steal the knife away._

_From there it was a struggle for the knife. As for Mrs. Davis, she was starting to recover from the fall. She felt many tiny cuts on her arm, back, and neck._

_As she tried to get up, she saw her husband fighting with the masked figure. But it wasn't long before one of the other members helped the leader by grabbing the man from behind._

_This gave the leader the upper hand, as with one swipe, he made a large cut on Mr. Davis' stomach._

_"Dear!" His wife cried as she attempted to crawl towards him. But another masked person grabbed her again. Another also guarded the phone in case someone tried to call for help._

_The leader laughed as he stood over the bleeding man, "Weak and pathetic... just like your son..."_

_"Hey, boss! Look what I found in the basement."_

_Yet another masked figure walked into the room, holding an object. The leader smirked widely. The Davis' paled in horror._

_It was an axe._

_"Thanks, man." The leader tossed the knife away as he grabbed the axe, "I think this'll work much better"_

_Mr. Davis once again tried to apprehend the criminal, but the cut not only prevented him from doing so, but two of the followers pinned him right back down, hitting his head in the process, leaving the man dazed._

_"NO! NO! Please, please don't! Don't hurt him! Please!" Mrs. Davis pleaded._

_But she was ignored as the leader raised the axe right above the father's head._

_"Any last words...?" He asked sinisterly._

_Mr. Davis glared again, "I hope you burn in Hell."_

_"Gladly. Wanna say something to your wife? I'm willing to spare her..."_

_The last thing Mrs. Davis ever saw her husband do was turn to her with a sympathetic look._

_"Honey... take care of Rudy... love you both..." Were his final words..._

_... Just as the axe came down on his neck._

_The impact was enough to splatter blood everywhere, even getting some on Mrs. Davis' dress. Speaking of, the now widowed woman cried in despair._

_Her husband... her beloved James... was gone._

_"Our work here is done, boys..." The leader chuckled, before turning to the distraught woman._

_"And as for you... you might wanna give little Rudy a message... but first..."_

_Another snap of the fingers and the ones holding her slammed her head down on the ground again, leaving her dazed._

_"Let's bounce..."_

_With that, the criminals left in another room. As for Rochelle, she had recovered again to see the horror in front of her. Sobbing, she made her way over to her husband's decapitated body._

_"James... my sweet James..." She cried, "My love... this can't be happening."_

_That's when she noticed something lying on top of his chest. It was a note. She opened it up and read what was inside._

**_'Rudy's father brought him into this world... we took his father out. Should've learned to share that junkyard...'_**

The widower sat in the living room, which was now cleaned up from the bloodbath that happened hours ago. But she felt like she could still see her husband's body, beheaded, sprawled on the ground.

The whole situation was horrifying... and she didn't get a whole lot of sleep because of it.

All day, friends and other people came over to pay their respects. She had received calls and flowers of pity. Even Martha and Joe called, saying they were planning on visiting to help out any way they could.

While she was thankful and grateful... she felt like she could try to be strong...

The only thing she was worried about... was Rudy.

Her precious son. After he learned of what happened from Officer Monroe, it took a full hour to calm him down. Ever since, the poor boy spent most of the day moping around the house, almost zombie-like.

And it greatly concerned her.

Right now, he shut had himself in his room for the past few hours, just as his friends came by to pay their respects.

"Thank you boys for coming..." She sighed, "I've been worried about poor Rudy. He won't eat, he won't talk to anybody... he won't even eat his favorite dessert."

"It sounds like he's taking this pretty hard," Albert said.

"He is... and since you boys are here. Maybe you can get him to open up..."

"We can try..."

With that, the gang made their way to Rudy's room in the upper half of their home. Albert stood in front as he knocked on the door.

"Hey, hey, hey. Rudy, can you come to play?" He asked.

There wasn't a response.

Donald then spoke next, "R-Rudy. It's us."

"I know! Go away!" Came the harsh response.

"We just want to see if you're okay, man," Harold spoke up.

"Do you THINK I'm okay?! NO!"

"C'mon, Rudy. Let us come in." Russell requested, "We just wanna talk..."

"What's there to talk about, shrimp?! Haven't you heard! I've been ROBBED! Of my DAD!"

Some more silence as the boys heard the door unlock and eventually open. Rudy stood there, a look of anger on his face... but also a look of devastation in his eyes.

The rich boy looked terrible overall, with wrinkled clothes, and major bags under his eyes. As if he didn't get a whole lot of sleep.

"Rudy..." Albert started, "Your Mom's worried about you... she says you've haven't eaten anything and you won't come out. Now, we'll respect your privacy if you want us to... but know that we're here for you. We'll help you..."

Rudy snorted with a dry laugh, "Help?! You wanna help me?! Unless you can find a way to bring back my dad, you CAN'T help me!"

"We know that much. But we wanna be here for you. We understand what you're g-going through..." Donald spoke.

Hearing the word 'understand' somehow set Rudy off, as he punched the wall beside the door, making the boys jump.

"NO YOU DON'T! YOU CAN'T POSSIBLY UNDERSTAND! YOU DUDES STILL HAVE YOUR FATHERS WHILE MINE HAD HIS FUCKING HEAD SLICED OFF WITH AN AXE!" He screamed.

... That was news...

Knowing that Mr. Davis had died was already shocking, but to hear that he was decapitated was horrifying.

"We had no idea, man..." Bill said with sympathy.

"We're so sorry..." Russell added.

Rudy scowled, "Don't be! Don't be sorry! There's nothing for you to be sorry about! You're not the ones who... and why are you being so sympathetic, Russell?! I thought you liked my suffering! I'm sure there's an insult or a 'no class' joke waiting inside you to come out!"

The small child shook his head, "No way. I know we aren't always the best of friends, but I'm not cruel. I would never make fun of you for something like this..."

"Ugh! I can't take this! Just leave me alone! I need some fresh air!"

With that, Rudy pushed past his friends as he dashed downstairs and out the door, much to his mother's surprise.

"Rudy...?"

The boys started to follow after him, "Don't worry, we'll bring him back." Albert assured her.

"Alright..."

Opening the door, the guys noticed Rudy jumping on his bike and ride off down the sidewalk. Immediately, they took off after to stop him.

"Rudy! Wait!" Albert called.

"Leave me ALONE!" Rudy snapped as he pedaled faster.

"Just talk to us... we know you're hurting... but running away won't solve anything..."

Albert was ignored, but the boys refused to give up the chase. Unfortunately, Rudy was just too fast, as he was out of sight in the next few seconds.

The rest of the guys rounded a corner before stopping to catch their breaths.

"Man... he sure has gotten better with that bike..." Harold panted.

"I-I wonder where he's going..." Donald added.

The boys tried to think. Where would Rudy be riding? Where would he go whenever he was upset? Where did he always go...?

Soon, the answer became clear. So without any more hesitation, the boys headed off to their destination.

Five minutes later, they were at the junkyard. But even here, they still knew exactly where Rudy went. Albert led the way to the clubhouse and opened the door.

Sure enough, the rich boy was there, sitting on the couch, clutching his hat tightly as tears streamed down his cheeks.

Carefully, they all approached him...

"Rudy..." Albert said softly.

"We're here for you, man..." Harold added.

"We won't abandon you," Bucky assured.

"Y-You were t-there for me when I was sad about Elaine..." Donald added, "N-N-Now I'm gonna be here for you..."

"We're gonna help you out the best we can..." Bill also added.

"Web careb." Mush added as well.

"Whatever you need... we got it..." Russell smiled softly.

Rudy looked up at his friends with the most pitiful look possible. Something about their words seemed to get to him. He stared at them for a few more seconds... before breaking down completely.

The clubhouse was filled with loud sobbing quickly. Donald was the first to walk over and hug his best friend. The others followed suit, either hugging or rubbing Rudy's shoulders and back as he bawled.

They have never seen the usually cocky rich boy so heartbroken and miserable. It was honestly scary. But that didn't stop them from coming to his aid.

"It's okay, Rudy... let it all out..." Albert said soothingly.

"WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?!" Rudy cried, "AM I SUCH A BAD PERSON THAT THE WORLD DECIDED TO PUNISH ME BY TAKING MY DAD?!"

"No, man... it's not your fault..."

"FUCK THOSE STUPID MURDERERS! **_FUCK THEM TO HELL_**!"

The boys just sat there, comforting Rudy and allowing him to vent out his grief, anger, and agony all at once. They didn't dare talk... they just listened...

With everything that was happening, and how it was destroying lives...

The Junkyard Gang was grateful to still have each other...

**Poor Rudy. I'm so sorry that you always have to suffer in some type of way in my stories.**

**But really, it's sweet that the guys always have each other's backs in their time of need. We see the gruesome way Rudy's dad was killed. And a little later, we'll see how it affects Rudy as a whole.**

**Next chapter is another breather, with no murders. Just the boys and their friends spending time together. I hope you liked this chapter. I'll see you guys later. And as always, don't forget to review, please. Thank you. **


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